Family Rangers
by SlythCat19
Summary: What would it be like if Tommy and Kim's twins joined the Dino Thunder team from the beginning?  AU Zeo and Dino Thunder
1. Chapter 1

Family Rangers: A Dino Thunder AU

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love while she visited during Christmas. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. This story starts in August during Zeo. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

**Bold letters** indicates telepathic conversation between any of the Olivers.

* * *

><p>Tommy Oliver smiled down at the tiny infant in his arms. The baby yawned and shut its eyes. Tommy rocked his son a few more times before placing the now-slumbering infant back into the plastic bassinet. He sat on the bed beside his beautiful girlfriend, where she was nursing their daughter. The Red Zeo Ranger kissed the top of Kimberley Hart's head. His arm wrapped around her shoulders.<p>

"It's hard to believe these little people didn't even exist this morning. Now they're here! And they're real!" Tommy gushed as his daughter held onto his finger. Kim smiled down at their little Theresa Trini.

"Oh, they existed, alright. My bladder can attest to that." Tommy was silent.

"How are we going to do this, Kim? Working with Kat on that family project was bad enough."

Theresa stopped feeding and Kim maneuvered their daughter to burp her. Tommy handed Kim a burp rag from the bedside table.

"It didn't help the baby you were watching turned into a plot to injure you guys. We do it one day at a time, together."

"And when we get called into action? Mondo's been quiet lately but he won't stay that way."

Upon returning to Angel Grove after Prince Gasket's attempt to brainwash Tommy, Kimberly discovered an unknown Zeo crystal, purple. She'd been inactive for the past seven months due to her pregnancy. She helped Billy in the Power Chamber during that time. They both knew she'd be pressed into service soon. King Mondo was quickly becoming too much for the five Zeo Rangers, plus the Gold Ranger, to handle.

"Mom and Pierre are back from Paris. They said we could leave Kyle and Theresa with them whenever we need to. Besides we already live above Mom's garage."

"That's going to be a lot of whenevers."

"We'll deal with it. We have to. It's not like we can give these little guys up for adoption. They're the children of two Rangers. I've got a feeling these two are going to be very special."

Both new parents smiled as Theresa gave a great burp and settled to sleep on her mother's shoulder. Tommy relaxed and thought about his new family. Yes, they were only seventeen and Power Rangers and new parents. They'd be living in the room above Kimberly's mom's garage until after graduation. They planned to get an apartment while they both attended college. They had plans. They made plans together. That was the important thing. No matter what, they'd be together, all four of them.

To think, two months ago, he didn't even know Kimberly was pregnant. It was Billy who realized Kim's Dear John letter didn't sound like her. He teleported to Florida with Jason, with Zordon's blessing. The pair had a long talk with Kim but promised the former Ranger they wouldn't say anything to Tommy. Kim sent the letter so Tommy could have a real life free of babies. Kim got scared and felt Tommy deserved to chase his dreams.

The pair talked for the whole week Billy and Jason were in Florida. They got everything out in the open. They pled Kim to let Tommy know about the baby but she was adamant about giving Tommy a life free of diaper changes and 2AM feedings.

Kimberly came back to Angel Grove when she was six months pregnant. She was the only one who was able to get through to Tommy when he was brainwashed by Prince Gasket. It was during the drive back to Angel Grove from Miami that the couple discussed their future. They decided that they were going to face it together, with their children.

* * *

><p>Sixteen Years Later<p>

Doctor Tommy Oliver adjusted his glasses as he entered Reefside High School, his children right behind him.

"Remind me again why we couldn't return to Angel Grove after the island's destruction and living in Blue Bay?" Kyle moaned from behind Tommy.

"Because I found the dino gems here, not in Angel Grove. Besides, I think Blue Bay has had its fill of Power Rangers for a while."

Theresa rolled her brown eyes that were so much like Tommy's. "Here's hoping these gems lay dormant and no new Rangers get created. I'm ready for some peace and quiet. Especially after last year."

Theresa's twin seconded her suggestion.

"Get to your homeroom, both of you," Tommy sighed as his kids stalked off.

In no time, a woman with short black hair and matching glasses approached him.

"Dr. Oliver? I'm Principal Randall."

Tommy extended his hand.

"It's nice to meet you.

She ignored his proffered hand. He lowered it.

"It's your first day, too, isn't it?"

Randall perused her binder. "Yes, and I'm still trying to figure out why a doctor of paleontology would come all the way to Reefside to teach science to teenagers."

Tommy turned to face his new boss. "Guess my family and I are looking for some peace and quiet."

Randall smiled mockingly. "So you became a high school science teacher." Randall turned so she blocked Tommy's path to his classroom. "That doesn't really make lot of sense, now does it, Dr. Oliver?"

Tommy tried for the peaceful method. "You know, I was thinkin', maybe we should get together. This way you can fill me in on what you expect of me."

"I expect you to make it hard for them. Painful, if at all possible. If they smile, you know you're doing something wrong. Now, I'm off to find my first truant. We'll talk later."

Randall departed down the hall, leaving Tommy confused. His experience with his own children was quite different. He felt he was a fair parent. Not too lenient, not too strict. He was sure his kids would disagree.

The science lab was pure chaos. Hardly anyone was in his or her seats. Students threw wads of paper across the room. He noticed exactly two students sitting as he dodged a paper ball. One was a petite blonde girl wearing yellow and black. She was doodling in a notebook. The other was a young African-American boy dressed in blue denim typing furiously into a laptop.

"Guys! Settle down. Take your seats, please." The students took their seats, including Theresa. She smiled at him warmly as she got settled. "I'm Dr. Oliver and this is first period science. Before we start, are there any questions?"

A prim blond girl in a ponytail and a white sweater and skirt ensemble raised her hand. Tommy could tell she was going to be trouble. He caught an eye roll from his daughter. She had serious issues with spoiled princesses. It stemmed from confrontations with Marah and Kapri last year. Theresa was also very much a tomboy.

"Yes?"

The blonde stood. The class groaned. "Cassidy. Cassidy Cornell. Dr. Oliver, as you may know, I'm the anchor and field reporter for our school TV station." More eye rolls from the class. Theresa appeared positively disgusted. Cassidy noticed the groan and threw her peers a look. "Anyway, I'm sure our viewers are wondering. Well, you don't really look old enough to be a teacher."

While Tommy was flattered by the comment, there still remained the fact that Tommy was old enough to have not only a beautiful wife but also sixteen-year-old twins.

Cassidy turned toward her sidekick, completely missing the snicker from one Theresa Oliver. Tommy again glared at his younger child. Theresa just shrugged her shoulders. Yeah, Tommy had no discipline when it came to his daughter.

"Cassidy, I promise you, I'm old enough, as your classmate, my daughter, can attest to. Put the camera away."

Cassidy and Devin sat back down.

"For now, let's talk about you guys and what you expect of yourselves in this class. 'Cause that's what's really important."

Tommy noticed an empty stool where he was sure a student was supposed to be.

"Is someone missing?" Students glanced around. Finally, it was the girl in yellow that spoke up. "Conner McKnight. You'll find him on the soccer field. The idiot practically lives there."

Tommy chose to ignore the name-calling and concentrated on the young woman.

"And you are…?"

"Kira Ford, sir." Tommy took note and continued his lesson, handing out a syllabus and having the students read and take notes on the first chapter while he took role. The former Ranger wondered about the absent Conner McKnight. What kind of student ditches the first class of the new school year? Tommy's classes continued for the rest of the day. Kyle was in his fifth period class.

* * *

><p>Tommy was just going to find his kids at the end of the day when Randall came up alongside. "Dr. Oliver, how was your first day?"<p>

"Ah, the kids were great, no problem."

"Good, you're going to be seeing a lot more of them. In detention."

"Mind telling me what I did?"

"No, you're in charge of it today."

"Uh, actually, my kids and I have plans to go to that new museum outside of town."

"Perfect! Bring the little monsters with you."

"My Jeep only seats four comfortably and I already have Theresa and Kyle for the rest of the day."

"That little soccer punk McKnight has both a license and a car. He can follow you. This should be sufficient torture for them."

Tommy took in his three detainees. He recognized Kira and Ethan from his first period. The young man in blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and an open button-down covered by British flags must be Conner McKnight.

"You've all met, I trust. Well, enjoy your little outing." None of the four were happy. Only Randall was entirely too happy. Tommy removed his glasses.

"So, you guys like museums?"

* * *

><p>Both of his kids were already waiting in his Jeep, arguing. Theresa was in the backseat, Kyle in the front passenger.<p>

"I called shotgun. You can't just ignore the car rules, Ky."

Kyle smirked at his little sister. "I was born first, so I'm entitled."

The pair noticed their dad coming toward them with three students.

"Uh, Dad?"

"Yes, Ky?"

"Are you kidnapping these kids?"

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm monitoring detention today. Principal Randall decided these three would join us on our trip to the museum. Conner McKnight, Kira Ford, Ethan James, my children, Kyle and Theresa."

Everyone exchanged polite hellos.

"Why don't you three follow us? There isn't room enough in my Jeep for all of us."

* * *

><p>Conner, Kira, and Ethan met up with the Olivers in the parking lot of the museum. An extremely lifelike T-Rex stood silent in front of the museum.<p>

"Whoa, check out that T-Rex!"

The six walked up to the entrance but found their way blocked by a metal chain and a sign that read 'Sorry, we're closed'. Tommy looked around. "That's weird."

"Great, no museum for us," Conner quipped.

"Let's go home," agreed the teen in yellow. Kyle and Theresa glanced at one another.

**Yeah right. Like Dad's gonna let these brats off easy!**

**Good one, Ky!**

"Why don't the five of you have a look around the grounds? If any of you find anything prehistoric, I'm canceling detention for the rest of the week."

"Sweet," replied Ethan.

"I'm gonna find someone to tell us when they're opening up."

Kyle held back. "Do we really have to go with them, Dad? Theresa and I did nothing wrong today. We don't have detention."

"Ky, just go with them. You and your sister need to make sure nothing happens to those three. I have a funny feeling about them."

"You mean, aside from the fact they enjoy primary colors?"

"Just go!"

Kyle hurried up to his sister and their dad's charges. He couldn't help but laugh as Conner asked Ethan about his computer club. Kyle and Theresa hung back behind the trio. "Please tell me the dumb jock doesn't become the new leader."

Theresa looked up at her brother. While both inherited their father's height, Kyle was still a good six inches taller than his sister. "He favors red." Theresa cocked her head to the side. "Or maybe he just really likes Britain." Kyle had to agree with her. That was a very British shirt the soccer star had on.

"Let's just go. We wouldn't want them to discover the cave to our basement or anything," Kyle stated sarcastically. The pair hurried up to the detainees. Just as they caught up, all five fell through the ground to the network of caves and tunnels below. Conner attempted to climb the cave wall but didn't get very far before falling and landing on his back.

The twins knew exactly where they were and where this particular tunnel led. It led to a dead end with a dinosaur fossil set up at the underground entrance to their basement where five dino gems were kept, hidden safely away from the outside world. Once the group got to the dead end, Big Red Idiot just had to reach for the fossil's jaw and unknowingly gain access to the Oliver's basement. The twins were just glad their mother was staying late at her gym and not home to hear the ruckus below the house.

Kira, Conner, and Ethan wandered around in amazement. The twins stood by the door, bored. That changed when the trio noticed the glowing gems in the center of the room. Theresa noticed that there were five gems for five teenagers and two of the gems coincided with her and Kyle's Ninjetti colors.

"We probably shouldn't be touching things that don't belong to us," Theresa advised.

Conner scoffed. "They're rocks and they look prehistoric to me. This would get me out of detention for life!"

**Really, he's the leader? **Theresa asked her twin, incredulous.

**Maybe, Sis, his leadership skills are buried and being a Ranger will bring them to the surface.**

**Gag me with a spoon!**

Ethan, Conner, and Kira gaped at the twins. If their body language was any indication, they were having a conversation without any words. Theresa noticed them staring.

"What?"

"Do you and Kyle have telepathic conversations often?" Ethan asked the shocked twins. Maybe not all of them were oblivious.

"So? We are twins. Born minutes apart. Shared a womb. Multiples have been known to have psychic connections. Now, can we just get out of here?" There was no way she was going to let these guys know the twins shared the same telepathic connection to their parents. They couldn't read each other's minds but could send telepathic messages.

The students not of Oliver/Hart blood each grabbed a stone. Kyle smirked at his sister. "You want to be green or orange?" Theresa folded her arms. She took in her brother's forest green tee and raised an eyebrow.

"You know Mom and Dad are going to kill us, right?"

"At least we'll go out with powers."

Theresa huffed. "Fine. Give me the orange gem. Just don't come crying to me when you turn evil!" Kyle tossed his sister the orange gem and grabbed the green gem for himself.

"Last time it was navy and crimson that were evil," Kyle reminded his sister.

Theresa didn't comment.

He followed his classmates out back into the cave. The five emerged some minutes later, blinking as their eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. A sharp breeze blew past the group. A crack like thunder followed a second later. The teens were no longer alone in the forest. Dozens of tyrannodrones surrounded the teens. Kyle and Theresa quickly morphed into their Ninjetti uniforms and dropped into fighting stances, a green and orange fighting force to be reckoned with. Kyle's spirit animal was the eagle, swift and destructive. Theresa's animal was the fox, sly and quick.

"Keep very still, maybe they won't attack."

Theresa rolled her eyes. Kira seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Great, make it easier for them."

"Uh, just a suggestion, but we could fight them," Theresa suggested from behind the trio. The three turned around to face the Olivers, mouths agape. Kyle cocked his green-clothed head to one side. "What? Never seen a ninja before?"

The drones chose that moment to attack. "I suggest a new plan, run!" Conner exclaimed before taking off through the woods. The newbies ran through the forest while Kyle and Theresa fought their dad's creations. Theresa saw Kira fall, then let out a mind-numbing scream and several drones flew backward, hit by a wall of sound.

Okay, thought Theresa, one dino power discovered. Her power, she soon discovered, was the power of fire. Tendrils of flame danced from her fingertips, incinerating her group of drones. Her brother, to pair with his spirit animal, had the power of levitation. He was throwing kicks and punches from his place above the drones' heads, easily defeating them. The drones departed as quickly as they came, leaving the teens alone in the forest. The twins unmorphed from their Ninjetti uniforms. Conner advanced on them.

"Okay, I have like a million questions."

"We may or may not be able to answer your questions." Theresa placed her hands behind her back as she began to walk out of the forest.

"How long have you guys been ninjas?"

"We've been training ever since we were little. It runs in the family. Kyle and I have only been Ninjetti since we turned sixteen last March."

"What's the difference?"

"Ninjetti are focused around a spirit animal that is specific to the person. This animal guides you through the rest of your life. One has to be worthy just to attempt a spirit quest. There's no guarantee in passing the tests, either. You have to face the worst parts of yourself and overcome those traits."

"Sounds intense."

"It really is, but rewarding. The power you gain at the end is incredible. My parents went on their spirit quests when they were around our age. That's where we inherited our power from."

"Dr. O's a ninja, too?" Ethan was bugging big time. The twins nodded.

"He's a karate master. Before we moved to Reefside, our dad taught at the youth center in Angel Grove and at a dojo in Blue Bay Harbor."

"I still can't see it," Kira said.

"What were those things we just fought? What's happening to us?" Conner demanded of the twins. He had a feeling these two knew more than they were saying.

"Why would we know what's happening?"

"You didn't seem surprised to be throwing fire or floating."

"When you train as ninjas, nothing much surprises you. I have a friend that can literally walk on water." Theresa shrugged, as if it was not big deal.

Kira turned toward the brunette. "Really? Someone who can walk on water?"

"She's a friend from Blue Bay. Her element is water."

The group emerged from the forest to find Tommy running toward them.

"Hey, are you guys all right?" With him being chased by a giant robot dinosaur, he wanted to make sure nothing happened to his kids and his charges. Conner, Ethan, and Kira quickly hid their gems. Theresa and Kyle didn't even bother. Their parents would discover the missing gems soon enough. Tommy and Kim spent time in the lab every night after dinner, collecting data.

The group nodded their heads in agreement. Tommy noticed his kids' hair was mussed, a sure sign they'd been in a fight, and using their Ninjetti uniforms again. He recalled the mussed look very well from his own days as a Ninjetti. He'd have words with his twins on the way home.

"Couldn't be better," Ethan piped up. Tommy was obviously suspicious. Raising teenagers gave him special insight that his three detainees were hiding something. "Nah, just your routine hike in the woods. Lots of furry little creatures."

"Not to mention some scaly ones," Kira muttered under her breath. Tommy, still suspicious, opened up his mind link to his nonchalant kids.

**You two will tell me what really happened.**

** Yes, Dad**, the twins chorused.

Conner was eager to change the subject. "So, you get into the dino exhibit?"

Now, it was Tommy's turn to be evasive. He really didn't want to say anything about the robo-dino lying in the middle of the highway. "Uh, they're still working the kinks out."

**Now whose being squirrely, Dad? **Theresa smirked and crossed her arms.

**Just ignore the fact that there is no longer a Tyrannosaurus statue out in front of the museum.**

"We better get you guys back." Tommy glanced around nervously before taking off towards his now-slightly battered Jeep. Theresa and Kyle used their Ninjetti camouflage powers to eavesdrop on the other teens' conversation.

"Don't you guys think we should tell him?"

"I don't know about you, but I've got over 1,000 sci-fi DVDs. Do you want to know how many times the dude with the superpowers ends up in some freaky government lab on a table with wires in his head?"

"Even I know that," Conner confirmed. Theresa rolled her eyes at Kyle. Little did they know how much their dad could actually help. He was the greatest Ranger ever, after all…

"Are you guys coming?" Tommy looked around, not seeing his offspring anywhere. The three teens searched but didn't know the twins were hiding in plain sight. Kyle smirked. They loved playing this game with either of their parents. It kept the older ninjas' senses sharp. Tommy closed his eyes and concentrated. Kyle attempted to slip past his dad but Tommy was still too quick. He grabbed a fistful of Kyle's shirt and flipped him. Kyle reappeared and landed on his butt. Theresa stepped out from her meld with a tree. Tommy squatted down by his son.

"You'll never the jump on me, Ky." Kyle pushed himself up and dusted himself off.

"Had to try, Dad. Keep you on your toes, and all that!"

"Just get to the car, will ya?" Kyle smiled and nodded, racing his sister back toward the parking lot. That left Tommy alone with his students. Students who now had powers they didn't even know existed and were dying for answers.

"Theresa said you're a ninja, Dr. O. Is that true?" Kira wondered as they walked back to the cars. Tommy glared after his departed daughter.

"At one point in my life, yes, I trained with a ninja master, so have my kids."

"That is so cool! How did you get involved in all that?" Ethan gushed at his teacher.

"I've studied karate nearly all my life, the ninja training branched out of that." That was all Tommy would give them. The four reached the parking lot and split up. The Olivers headed home while the three detainees headed back to school.

* * *

><p>Tommy drove for a few minutes, as his kids remained silent. "Okay, mind letting me in on what happened in the woods?" Theresa gave a quick recap, including the part about the gems being taken and their powers binding to the teens' DNA. Tommy sighed. He hated that his technology, his research, was being used against him. But what could he do? Mesogog wasn't just going to give up and move to Bermuda. The teens could hardly give up the dino gems, now that the gems have bonded. The only way to get rid of the powers now was to destroy the host body and that was one thing Tommy simply refused to let happen. Not one Ranger has ever died on his watch and he wasn't about to let his kids or his students become the first casualties.<p>

"I already have morphers made up. I'll give them to you guys once we get home."

"You know Mom's going to kill you, right? For creating a new team of Rangers?"

"You just leave your mom to me. Besides, the others aren't Rangers, yet. They may never be."

Theresa sat back with a shrug. She just didn't want to have to explain to Principal Randall why her mom murdered her dad….

Kyle had his doubts. Tommy had trouble syncing his iPod at times, much less creating the technology to enable Rangers to morph properly. "Who helped you?"

Tommy cast a sidelong glance at his son. "What?"

"With the morpher technology. It couldn't have been Zordon or Alpha. Uncle Billy's still on Aquitar most of the time. I know you had help. Who was it?"

Tommy sighed. It sometimes seemed as if his children knew him too well. "For your information, Hayley Johnson helped a lot."

"Your friend that owns the cyber café?"

"One and the same. We attended MIT together, in case you forgot, Ky."

"She doesn't seem like the super genius type to me."

Tommy smirked. "All part of her master plan. She aided me in gaining control of the two zords we do have."

Theresa was excited. "We get zords? How cool, I've always wanted my own zord!"

"Mesogog has control of the other three, unfortunately."

"What are our zords? I'm assuming Kyle's is a flying dinozord as his spirit animal's a bird."

"We can discuss all this at home."

"You get to tell Mom you're planning on making a new team of Rangers! I can't wait to see her face! You know all she wants is some peace from all the Ranger business for a while."

"I know, Theresa, especially after what went down in Blue Bay last year with Lothor and the Wind Ninjas."

"Just a reminder, Cam's going to be calling tonight. So if you could have your fight with Mom before eight, that would be greatly appreciated!"

"Sis, you don't have to talk with your boyfriend every night."

"We don't talk every night. He's really busy now that the academy's up and running again. Cam's teaching the new students as well as trying to keep an eye on Marah and Kapri. We talk maybe, a couple times a week."

"Would you like to see the phone bill, daughter of mine?"

"No thank you." That effectively ended conversation for the remainder of the trip home.

Once Kim got over her anger at the Dino Gems finding their owners, including her own children, she and Tommy started working with the twins to harness the dino gem power into morphers and uniforms. Thankfully, Kim learned a lot being around Billy for so many years and then being friends with Hayley since college. Kim studied at MIT with Tommy and Hayley. They were doing all this in the basement lab when they heard the trap door to the kitchen open. Down the steps came Ethan and Conner, obviously confused.

"This is the same place!" Ethan exclaimed, standing in the middle of the lab and turning around. Conner did the same thing. Neither noticed the family coming out of the shadows.

"Are you freakin' out right now?"

"Yeah, I'd have to say, I am!"

"If you're looking for extra credit you're in the wrong place."

End of Day of the Dino Part 1


	2. Chapter 2

Family Rangers: A Dino Thunder AU

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love while she visited during Christmas. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. This story starts in August during Zeo. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this first part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

**Bold letters** indicates telepathic conversation between any of the Olivers.

* * *

><p>Conner and Ethan turned around, confused to see their teacher and a petite woman they assumed was his wife, and the Oliver twins in the underground lab. The Olivers weren't pleased to see the pair. Tommy was shooting them some pretty deadly looks.<p>

"Dr. O, Dr. O's family, before you guys go off for us breaking into your house, can we explain why we're here?"

Kim crossed her arms. She waited for their excuse as to breaking and entering their teacher's home. Conner leaned closer to the shorter boy. "Dude, they're just going to laugh when we tell 'em."

"It's the truth. They'll believe us. Besides, they're ninjas. They can fight!"

Kim glared at her children. **You outed yourselves?**

Theresa hung her head. **We had to, Mom! Drones were attacking from everywhere!**

Kim let the subject drop for the moment.

"All right. Kira's gone."

Kim glanced back at her children and then at her husband. **Who's Kira?**

Tommy cast a sidelong glance at his wife. **She's one of my new students. Possibly, the new Yellow Ranger, if it comes to that.**

"She got taken by these weird looking dinosaur things."

Tommy let out a defeated breath. His research led to the capture of a helpless teenager. He walked a few paces, gathering himself. His family, knowing him so well, stayed silent.

"They don't look convinced," muttered Conner. Tommy really hoped Theresa was wrong about Conner being the new Red. The kid had definitely been hit in the head with a soccer ball one time too many. The former Ranger turned toward his family. The three of them who stuck by him through everything, getting his degree, working on his PhD, having to live in Blue Bay Harbor for a year (during which Lothor spent much of the year attempting to destroy) and moving to Reefside so Tommy could continue with the Dino Gem research. He decided to let these kids in, just a little bit.

"They're called tyrannodrones."

Ethan gaped yet again. "And you know this because…"

"My dad helped create them," Theresa spoke up softly.

"Oh, class project?" Tommy hoped Ethan found a way to keep that wit. He was going to need it if he accepted the Ranger powers.

"It's a long story," piped up Kyle. "For now, we gotta figure out what they want with Kira."

Conner became sheepish. "It might have something to do with these." The jock pulled the yellow and red Dino Gems from his pocket. Tommy did his level best to act surprised. He settled on resigned. Kim placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"This was going to happen sooner or later. You knew that as soon as you learned what these gems are capable of."

"We're really sorry. How were we supposed to know those things had super powers and those lizard things were going to come looking for them?"

"I tried to warn you not to touch other people's stuff but did you listen? No. Now, my dad's archenemy has your friend." Theresa went off at Conner.

"You could have told us what these were. What they would do to us."

"No, I couldn't have. Dad swore all of us to secrecy. It was bad enough Kyle and I revealed we are ninjas and our parents were ninjas. One of the tenants my family lives by have been broken already. I wasn't about to break any more." Theresa started out hot at Conner, and then directed the guilt inward, as an Oliver was wont to do. Kyle put a comforting arm around his sister's shoulder, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Please don't beat yourself up. We had to morph. There were too many drones for us to handle without our powers. You are not responsible for these guys picking up the gems."

Tommy, meanwhile, paced, holding the yellow gem. "No, I guess this isn't exactly something you see everyday," stated the man who had experienced so much better and worse.

"Sort of like a science teacher and his ninja family with the ruins of an ancient civilization under their house?" The boy in blue asked.

Conner was fed up. He wanted answers, not more cryptic statements. "Like, not that this isn't all really cool, but seriously, dude, you've gotta come clean."

**They're not Rangers, yet, Dad. We can only give out so much information,** Theresa sent her worried father.

"Okay, first of all, don't call me 'dude.' Second, hard as this may seem, you two need to forget all about this. We'll find Kira." Tommy turned toward the massive bank of computers on the back wall but Conner super-sped into his teacher's path. Tommy could hardly be surprised.

"The gem's power is already starting to bond with you," Kyle informed Conner.

"You can tell us about it now or at my next parent-teacher conference."

"I don't respond well to threats, Conner, or blackmail. I'm just not sure how much to let you two in on. So much of our lives remain in the shadows and we prefer it that way."

"We just want Kira back, Dr. O." Tommy could read the earnestness in the soccer star's voice. Conner and Kira might not have started out as friends but Tommy could tell, Conner cared about her now. He capitulated.

"Where did you see her last?"

"At school. I suggested we not tell anyone what happened today. Kira agreed and gave me her gem. She walked away and then the drones came out of nowhere, grabbed Kira, and disappeared again."

Tommy turned toward his son. "Ky, can you bring up the satellite view of the high school?" Kyle nodded and began typing. A picture came up on the monitor.

"I'm reading some portal energy in the parking lot. Faint, but it's still there."

"Then that's where we start. Ky, you okay with staying here and monitoring us?"

"What? Mom can run the computer, she helped design and build it."

"As did you, if I recall correctly. I only want to take one car, and since I'm sure Ethan and Conner want to come with Theresa and I, there's only so much room. Besides, you'll get your fair share of adventures, don't worry about it."

Kyle gave in and agreed to monitor the group with Kim.

That left Conner, Ethan, and Theresa to ride with Tommy in his Jeep. Ethan and Conner wasted no time grilling the Olivers.

"So when you said you helped create those tyranno…whatevers, you were just kidding, right?"

"Dad never kids about his work."

"They weren't supposed to be used this way. Someone's modified their programming."

**Damn giant ugly dinosaur mutant,** Theresa sent her dad. Tommy ignored her.

"A few years back, I was doing research on combining dinosaur DNA with technology. My partner, a scientist named Anton Mercer…"

"The rich guy who disappeared years ago!" Ethan interrupted Tommy's story.

"Yep. Shortly after Mercer disappeared, our lab was attacked. All of our research was destroyed."

**Not all of it.**

"Or at least I thought it was."

"And the guy who did this is back?"

Tommy stopped at a three-way intersection. "He calls himself Mesogog."

**Where do these villains come up with their names? **Theresa noticed her dad glaring at her through the rearview mirror.

"And you think he's after the gems?"

**Aren't they always?**

"Looks like it."

Ethan couldn't keep quiet any longer. "This is all totally fascinating but how is it helping find Kira? I mean she's not going to fall out of the sky and land right in front of us."

A green light flashed right in front of them and Kira did indeed fall out of the sky to land, face first, on Tommy's hood. Theresa smirked at her new friend in blue. "You were sayin'?"

Everyone got out to help Kira down.

"How'd you do that?" Ethan asked, awestruck.

**I know how she did it!**

** Shush!**

"I have no idea!" Kira stated as Ethan and Conner helped her down from Tommy's hood.

**Invisiportal? **Theresa asked her father mentally.

**Appears that way.**

"One minute I'm being chased by Frankenlizard through this creepy lab and the next thing I know, I'm a hood ornament!"

"Invisiportals," Tommy supplied while he looked around the cloudless sky.

"Whatever. Next time, I'm calling a cab. What are you guys doing here?"

"We were on our way to rescue you. These two just tagged along," Theresa responded, indicating Conner and Ethan.

"Nice job. Way to show up when I don't need you anymore."

Another green flash and more tyrannodrones dropped out of a portal alongside a mechanical being of some sort. Conner glanced toward the new arrivals.

"You sure about that?"

Theresa quickly morphed into her Ninjetti uniform, her face and body nearly completely covered. The three teens took up defensive positions, Conner in front and center, Kira and Ethan flanking. Tommy and Theresa stepped in front of the trio. Theresa folded her arms across her chest.

"Mesogog find a new goon to do his dirty work?"

Zeltrax responded in a deep, mechanical voice. "You are not fit to speak my master's name. Come with me or suffer the consequences."

"We're gonna hafta say no."

Zeltrax and the drones attacked. The five split up to each handle their own group of drones. Theresa sent fireballs while fighting, setting her drones on fire. Tommy used his Jeep to fight several drones and Zeltrax. They all regrouped when the drones gave up.

"Make sure to tell your master the Olivers are back."

"I will inform him. This battle is over but the war has only just begun." Zeltrax and the remaining drones disappeared into an Invisiportal.

"It's the best they could do?" Ethan exclaimed, still feeling the rush from the fight.

"Let's get out of here."

"Kyle's gonna be pissed he missed this!"

Tommy turned to face his daughter. "How many times do I have to tell you, no gloating to your brother?"

Theresa was chastised. "Sorry, Dad."

Tommy checked his watch. "It's getting late. I don't want your parents to worry."

Theresa climbed into the backseat of the slightly more beat up Jeep. Within a twenty-four hour time period, her dad's car was chased by a robot dinosaur and used by its owner as a fight prop.

Conner piped up, "I'll bet you don't. You might have to explain something."

"I'll fill you in tomorrow after school."

**Really, are you going to explain everything that happened in your life since you were sixteen? I imagine that would take a while.**

Tommy shrugged his shoulders at his daughter. **I could always just show them the video diary. Sit back, enjoy watching them flip out.**

** I'll pop some popcorn!**

Tommy responded to Conner, "I promise." The three teens agreed and got back into the now-cramped Jeep. Conner was sitting shotgun, Theresa directly behind him, Kira beside her and Ethan behind Tommy. The odd group chatted idly as Tommy dropped each student at their respective house, until just father and daughter were left in the SUV.

Once the pair returned home, Kim and Tommy continued helping the kids gain control of their new powers.

* * *

><p>Kira was talking with Theresa the next day as they entered the science lab. Cassidy sidled up to Kira. "Kira Ford, Theresa Oliver, Cassidy Cornell, Reefside News Network."<p>

"Cassidy, we know who you are, we have homeroom together. And I met you yesterday," responded Theresa.

"Yeah, anyway, what can you tell me about the mysterious goings on in Reefside? For example, the sudden friendship between you, Conner McKnight and Ethan James?"

Neither Theresa nor Kira could get a word in edgewise.

"Or better yet, the strange creatures that appeared out of nowhere and just attacked you in broad daylight? What about that? Huh?"

Kira glanced at her new friend. "Look, we have no idea what you're talking about! But as you can see, we're just fine. But you…you look kind of…oh…pasty." The girl in yellow successfully changed the subject. Cassidy was now focused on how she looked.

"Pasty? Are you serious? I hate fluorescent lighting!" The aspiring reporter took out her compact to check her complexion. Theresa and Kira took their seats. Tommy entered and addressed Cassidy.

"Cassidy? Unless you plan on giving a lecture on the Mesozoic period, I suggest you take your seat." The girl gave an embarrassed smile and sat down. "Thank you." Tommy opened his notes and addressed the class. "Okay, who can tell me when it all began?"

The room suddenly began to shake, causing everyone to run for cover. Dark clouds engulfed the sky. Lightning flashed outside the bank of windows. Tommy's students rushed to see what was going on. Tommy and Theresa gaped as they overheard Devin tell Cassidy about mechanical dinosaurs attacking downtown.

**Mesogog's using the other three zords to attack the city? **A worried Theresa sent to her dad. She and Kyle watched archival footage of the Dragonzord attack Angel Grove when Tommy was the evil Green Ranger. That one zord alone nearly took out half of the city. There was no telling what three zords on a rampage could do.

Tommy put a comforting arm around his daughter's shoulders. **It certainly sounds like it. We have to get your new friends to accept the powers and tame the zords or there won't be anymore Reefside.**

Kyle jumped into the mental conversation from his place in his math class. **They need to be stopped. If Earth ever needed new Rangers, now's the time.**

Conner, Kira, and Ethan were the last to leave the lab after Randall called for an immediate dismissal. "Dr. O, now would be a good time to have that little chat," suggested Kira.

"We're out of time. If Mesogog revived the biozords, we gotta act fast. Come with me." Tommy ran out, Theresa on his heels and Kyle joining them in the hallway. The three soon-to-be Rangers reluctantly followed.

* * *

><p>Kim was already home when Tommy and his students pulled up, again in two cars. Kyle and Theresa were just itching to try out their new morphers and their zords. Their dad and Hayley somehow discovered a way to cloak the morphers as a simple silver cuff with the gem embedded in the center. The group headed straight for the basement lab. Kyle jokingly referred to it as the Command Center. Theresa had a feeling the name would stick.<p>

"So these mechanical dinosaurs, they're your friends?" Kira wondered sarcastically as she attempted to keep up with the information overload from the car ride.

"Most of the time," Kyle muttered. Tommy shot his son a look. The brunette boy shut up.

"Biozords. Fusion-powered replicants using actual dinosaur DNA for their functions."

Ethan was quick. "Wait, let me guess. You helped build them."

"I'm afraid so."

"He was working toward his PhD, not trying to take over the world. My husband saw practical uses for his research," Kim explained from her seat on the stairs.

"But right now we…" Tommy caught himself. It would be his students and his kids out there, fighting, "…I mean you have to tame them."

Ethan was skeptical. "I'll BBL if it's all the same to you." Tommy was confused. "Be back later."

"Ethan, wait. You can do this." Theresa put her hand on her new friend's shoulder.

"But you won't have to do this alone," Kyle reminded Ethan.

"Ever since I found the Dino Gems, I've had these waiting. In case I've ever needed to harness their powers."

Now it was Kira's turn to be confused. "Into what?"

Kim opened a silver case to reveal three morphers, one red, one blue, and one yellow. It was now or never for these three. She hated the thought of turning their lives upside down. She knew Tommy felt the same way. Just the mere idea of her own children carrying on in their parents' footsteps was terrifying. They'll get hurt, or worse. But then she recalled Theresa and Kyle chose to become Ninjetti and all five of the teens chose to pick up the Dino Gems.

"Dino Morphers." Kim felt her children step up on either side of her, Tommy standing behind his students. "Use these to become Power Rangers."

Three sets of eyes couldn't get any bigger. Their new teacher, his wife, and ninja kids wanted them to become Power Rangers? Were they on something?

"The Earth needs you guys. Ky and I can't take on Mesogog and his thugs all by ourselves."

Ethan wobbled. "I gotta sit down."

Conner caught him. "Breathe, dude."

Kira turned toward her teacher. "We can't be Power Rangers! Aren't you supposed to fly and have superhuman strength and stuff like that?" Tommy just raised his eyebrows in response.

**I know this is a huge shock and all, but really? Is her short-term memory really that bad?** Kim glared back at her son. He mentally shut up.

"You do."

"Oh yeah. I forgot." The girl in yellow lowered her eyes.

"Your gems are from the asteroid that crashed into Earth millions of years ago, wiping out the entire dinosaur population. When I found them, I recognized their power and hid them so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands."

Conner shrugged his shoulders. "How do you know these are the right hands?"

Kyle nodded towards Conner. "The gems are ours. They chose us, we didn't choose them."

"Can't they unchoose us?"

"They've already bonded with your DNA. That's what's given you your powers."

"So if they already bonded with us, how come Mesogog and his creeps are still after 'em?"

This was where Tommy knew if these three had what it took to become Rangers. "The only way these powers can be taken away is if you're destroyed."

**Are you trying to give them heart attacks, Handsome? They're so young!**

**Older than we were, Beautiful, if you recall. They need to realize how dire the situation is. **

"Okay, for future reference, that's not a great selling point," Ethan muttered.

"Look, all I know its, I don't remember asking to be a superhero."

**No one asks to be a superhero, Mr. Red. One gets chosen,** Theresa muttered mentally.

"The gems wouldn't have bonded to you if you didn't already have something inside you that could handle the power."

"And your kids have this power too?" Kira wondered.

Theresa smirked. "We were born to be Rangers." **Let them chew on that morsel for a minute, **Kyle muttered. The remark went right over the boys' heads but Kira looked at her teacher and then his wife. Theresa said Dr. O was a ninja. Were ninjas similar to Power Rangers?

Kim slid the case forward. "Please." The three shared one last look before they picked up their morphers.

"So, now what?" Ethan asked as he fiddled with his blue morpher. "Do we need some kind of secret password or command?"

"All you have to is say 'Dino Thunder, Power Up' and you'll be transformed. You'll know what to do."

The twins demonstrated for their new teammates. In a flash of light, Kyle and Theresa Oliver disappeared. In their place were the Green and Orange Dino Thunder Power Rangers. Conner and Ethan verbally sparred for a moment.

"Look, we know you three are from different worlds. We get it. But you're gonna hafta work together and with my kids or this will never happen."

Tommy took up where his wife left off. "This won't be easy. Nobody knows that better then Kim and I do. But you're gonna hafta believe in yourselves 'cause we believe in you." Kim took her husband's hand, showing a united front. Theresa took her dad's other hand while Kyle latched onto Kim.

"Really?" Theresa smiled at Conner. She and her brother had long since removed their helmets.

"Really." The twins powered down as their new teammates slipped their morphers onto their wrists. With the three zords attacking and limited space in Tommy's Jeep, the Oliver twins decided to stay behind. This was the time to see what the three newbies could do.

Tommy sped downtown with his three new Rangers. The teens got out once the Jeep stopped and marveled at the attacking machines. Zeltrax appeared in his aerial attack craft and Conner, Ethan, and Kira morphed for the first time, enjoying the rush of power through their veins as their bodies were covered in brightly colored spandex and helmets fitted over their heads.

Back in the lab, Kim smiled sadly. She remembered quite well what it felt like, that first time she suited up. There was no feeling like it in the universe. But then she saw what one of the dino zords was and her smile grew. Her original zord was back, in a different form, but still very much the same.

**Was there something you wanted to tell me about a particular zord, Husband of Mine? **Kim mentally asked her husband, even though several miles separated them.

**That was a great zord! I just took the specs from the Power Chamber and updated it a little!**

Watching from the sidelines, Tommy felt a tad bit left out. The new trio were holding their own but there was still the rush of morphing he missed terribly sometimes.

**Don't tell me you're itching to get back in Spandex, Handsome?**

** Like you don't miss it too, Beautiful.**

The teens got control of their zords and defeated the drones but got bounced around by Zeltrax. The trio lay on the ground, beaten. Tommy rushed forward.

"Rangers! Combine your weapons!" Their weapons combined to form the Z-Rex Blaster and Zeltrax went down. Unfortunately, the cyborg disappeared before the Rangers could inflict any more damage. The biozords attacked in earnest. Zeltrax retreated into his flying attack craft.

"You have to tame the zords," Kim's voice rang through their helmets and the specially designed radio in Tommy's car. Hayley and Billy designed a special frequency that allowed the speakers in Tommy's Jeep and Kim's car to pickup transmission to and from the helmets and lab.

"Concentrate. Your morphers will communicate your thoughts to them." Ethan went up to his and not long after, the tricerazord turned blue. Ethan had control. Next, Kira tamed hers. Conner's zord spun its tail into a building before Conner was able to get control. The trio celebrated. Tommy stepped in front of them.

"Only one more thing to do, bring them together," Theresa suggested from the lab. She and Ky already had their zords, updated versions of the first saber-toothed tiger and mastodon zords. Those two her parents never told Mercer or anyone outside their family circle about. The zords were ready and waiting should they be needed.

Tommy could only watch as the new Megazord took care of Zeltrax's ship. He smiled as the ship disintegrated and sparks rained down on Reefside. He heard three happy voices in his head. The new Rangers came down from their Megazord and Kim told them how to dismiss the zords back to their hiding places. The kids powered down and Tommy returned them to his house.

Back in the lab, the new team rejoiced. Tommy took back the three morphers to make some modifications. He returned a few minutes later and the morphers shifted into the same silver bracelets the twins now wore.

"Keep these bracelets with you at all times. They'll access your morphers when you need them. And you can use these to communicate with us, here, and with each other."

Kira looked at her bracelet. "Dr. O, I know you're real smart and a science teacher and everything, but this is…how did you…?"

**It helps to have the three most intelligent people on the planet as best friends, doesn't it, Dad? **Kyle smirked from his seat on the stairs. Billy Cranston, Hayley Johnson, and Justin Stewart all worked for a very long time with Tommy and Kimberly on the new Ranger technology. But that was a story for another day.

"I'll fill you in, in time."

"Speaking of time, think Mesogog's gonna stick around for a while," Conner asked. Kim stepped beside Tommy.

"Unfortunately, they always do."

"They?" Conner questioned quietly

"We know this is a lot to take in," said Kim from her place beside her husband. She could recall, like it was yesterday, the first time Zordon teleported her and her friends to the Command Center. The shock of it all, knowing that the fate of the world rested on the slim shoulders of a bunch of teenagers. It was a sobering and heady feeling.

"That's for sure," piped up Ethan.

"Your lives have just changed in ways you couldn't even have imagined," responded Kim. Tommy smiled down at his wife then looked back at the teenagers he was now responsible for.

"As long as you work together and remember you're a team, no one can defeat you."

Theresa stood up from her seat in front of the computer. "There are three rules every Power Ranger must follow."

Kyle moved to stand beside the new Blue Ranger. "First, never use your power for personal gain."

Kim placed a comforting hand on Kira's shoulder. "Second, never escalate a battle unless the bad guy does so first."

Tommy stepped forward so the circle was complete. "Finally, keep your identities secret. No one may know you are Power Rangers."

Conner glanced at his teacher. "No one? Not even my parents or my brother?"

"Especially not parents and siblings. They would be the first ones targeted and used against you," responded Tommy quietly. Conner accepted this with a silent nod of his head. Kim placed her arm into the center of the circle, followed by Tommy and then Kyle and Theresa. Ethan caught on first as his hand joined the four in the center. Kira next and Conner last. The group jumped and raised their hands.

"Power Rangers!"

End Day of the Dino part 2. Whew, that took a while. This story is being updated to include my new timeline and clear up events during that time.

Katie D.


	3. Chapter 3

Family Rangers: A Dino Thunder AU

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this second part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p>Wave Goodbye<p>

* * *

><p>Theresa and Kyle met up with their yellow and red teammates outside of Hayley's Cyberspace Café. The twins weren't as familiar with the café as Ethan was but they were familiar with its owner. After all, their dad's best friend did own the place. They just didn't know she dabbled in Ranger technology on the side. Ethan wanted his new friends to see where he hung out.<p>

"Ethan call you guys too?" Conner asked as soon as they were all close enough.

Theresa shook her head. "We know the owner personally. She and Dad go all the way back to college."

Kira glanced up at the neon green sign. "Just me. Said it was super important. What is this place?"

Kyle smiled. "Just the second-greatest teen hangout ever."

Conner stared at Kyle, not comprehending. "The Angel Grove Youth Center, of course! Which includes Ernie's Juice Bar. He makes the best smoothies!"

The Red Ranger merely shrugged his shoulders. "Let's check this place out. Maybe some other weekend we can drive up to Angel Grove. You can give us a tour."

The four headed inside. Kyle and Theresa split from Conner and Kira when Ethan came up to them. Neither really wanted to listen to the Blue Ranger gush about their surrogate aunt. They got enough gushing about Hayley from her boyfriend, Billy Cranston. Billy still spent much of his time on Aquitar. And people said long distance relationships never lasted. Obviously, those people never met Hayley and Billy. Hayley said her hellos to her honorary niece and nephew before moving on to help Kira and Conner.

Five minutes later, Kira had a gig and Conner split for tryouts for the Reefside Wave, the local pro soccer team. Kyle headed out not long after for his mom's gym. That left Ethan and Theresa to chat. Naturally, they were interrupted by their morphers going off. Theresa guided Ethan to a vacant terminal in a corner.

"Yeah, Doc, you got Ethan and Theresa." The Blue Ranger spoke into his communicator. He still felt strange talking to a silver bracelet with a blue rock.

"Can you guys meet me out on the end of Riverside Road in an hour?"

**Find something interesting, Dad?**

Theresa could feel her dad's excitement over their mental link.

**Just five Raptor eggs, that's all. But don't tell the others what they are. I want them to be a surprise.**

** No problem! Do we get to ride them?**

** As soon as their hatched, grown, and tamed.** Tommy let out a mental laugh at his daughter's excitement. Theresa practically bounced in her seat. Ethan gave her a weird look.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?"

"Just be there and I'll fill you in."

* * *

><p>Kyle balanced on the pommel. His legs shot straight up as the Green Ranger inverted, held, then walked the horse. He continued through his routine all the way to the end but completely trashed the landing. He ended up on his rear end. Kim and Kyle's coach, Gregory Stefan, watched from a distance.<p>

"Your legs are flying open. Close up your form before dismount."

Kyle stood and nodded at his coach. He went through the routine again. Kyle concentrated on keeping his legs straight on the dismount. He felt his feet touch the mat. His knees buckled and he had to fight for balance but Kyle remained on two feet. He threw his hands up in celebration. That landing was bothering him for months.

Gregory nodded. "Good. I want you to rehearse that routine ten times. I want you to be able to do it in your sleep. If you expect to medal at Nationals this year, that landing must be perfect."

Kyle inwardly groaned but started again. He knew better than to argue with Gregory. Especially with his mother in the room.

* * *

><p>In the forest, Ethan and Theresa hiked with Tommy to find the eggs he was looking for. Tommy provided some backstory for Ethan along the way.<p>

"After the island exploded, some of my experiments were scattered all throughout this area." Quickly, the trio came upon three glowing eggs. "There…"

Theresa hung back while her dad and Ethan crouched down to get the eggs. Tommy smiled proudly, knowing what the eggs contained could greatly aid the Rangers. Ethan was just plain confused.

"What are they?"

"Eggs," Tommy replied, still smiling. Theresa rolled her eyes.

"Oh, it's cool, Doctor. I just had lunch a couple hours ago."

Tommy laughed. "No, we're not going to eat them. We're going to hatch 'em. Then you're going to ride 'em."

**And just who is going to be responsible for these Raptors, Handsome?** Kim butted in from her place watching Kyle at the gym.

**Everyone will be responsible for their own, don't worry.**

** Yeah, right. I've heard that before.**

"Maybe its all this quiet out here that got me hearing things but I thought you just said we were going to ride these."

"He did! Trust him, Ethan. When these things are ready, they're going to be a big help to us."

Ethan glanced between Theresa and Tommy. "All right. Whatever you say." The group packed up the eggs into a large sack. A drone flashed in front of them. "You saw that right?" Both Olivers nodded. They formed a small circle.

"We have to protect the eggs, no matter what."

"Who'd want to hurt them?" Ethan wondered as the drones circled them. Theresa rolled her eyes. This boy had a lot to learn about not courting danger. Elsa stepped out from behind a tree.

"I would." Zeltrax and more drones appeared.

"And I. I'm starting to have my doubts about your intelligence, Doctor Oliver."

A drone snuck up behind Tommy and attempted to grab the sack with the eggs inside. Zeltrax ordered the remaining drones to attack. Theresa quickly morphed into her Ninjetti uniform for more power. Her dad fought the drones and yelled for Ethan to call the others. They needed backup.

"Guys! We could use some dino help out here!"

* * *

><p>Conner heard Ethan call out right in the middle of what could be the most important day of his life to date. All he ever wanted was to play pro soccer. He had his big chance right in front of him. He was making a real impression on the coaches, he could tell. But could he really ignore Ethan's call for help? His friend sounded like he was in real trouble.<p>

"No, not now!" He watched in despair as another player stole the ball and scored down the other end of the field. The Red Ranger hesitated for a second before leaving the practice field. He needed a find a place to morph, and quickly. "I'm sorry! I'll be back as soon as I can!"

* * *

><p>Kyle held his body still. His legs extended straight out in a plank position. All his weight was on his arms as his hands gripped the rings. He swung around twice before his communicator went off, cutting through the quiet of the gym. He and his mom were the only ones remaining. Gregory had taken a phone call and stepped inside Kim's office. Kyle let himself fall to the ground. He gave his mother an apologetic smile. She nodded in understanding. Kyle morphed into his green Dino Ranger suit and took off for Ethan's location.<p>

* * *

><p>Kira walked down the street. She had everything she would need for her guitar including new strings. She was very happy. She had a gig a Hayley's, Conner was trying out for a soccer team, and she got to kick some serious ass on an almost daily basis. Life was looking very good at that moment. Her morpher beeped. Speaking of kicking ass…Kira glanced around. No one was in sight. She morphed.<p>

* * *

><p>Back in the forest, the drones got on Ethan's last nerve. He and Theresa morphed into their Dino Ranger uniforms. Ethan was about to be sliced open when the Red and Yellow Rangers intervened. Theresa moved off to aid her family in protecting the eggs. Kyle slashed at the drones with his mastodon axe. Theresa shot the drones with her saber-tooth bow while still having to fight hand-to-hand. Combining those with their dad's nearly thirty years of martial arts training and their group of tyrannodrones never stood a chance.<p>

Elsa and Zeltrax fought against the Olivers. Even without powers, Tommy was a formidable fighter. Once Conner, Kira, and Ethan were finished with their drones, they rushed over to Tommy and his kids.

"You really like these odds? You look busted to me," Ethan taunted the villains.

"We're not through with you, Power Rangers!" Elsa screamed at the group.

"Nor you, Dr. Oliver," Zeltrax added. The pair disappeared up into an invisiportal.

Kira put her hands on her hips. "They're a pleasant couple."

Tommy cradled his sack of eggs. "We better get these back to our place." Conner, Ethan and Kyle just then noticed the sack.

"What are they?"

Theresa jumped up and down in excitement. She couldn't wait to ride hers once it was grown and tamed! She, more than Kyle, enjoyed the dinosaur aspect of their dad's experiments. Kyle liked the technology part better. **Raptor Riders! Dad found the Raptor Rider eggs!**

** Huh? Raptor Riders? Don't remember those in Dad's experiments. **The Green Ranger mentally shrugged his shoulders.

Theresa snorted at her dense brother. Just because the Riders were more dinosaur than technology and not the other way around….

"We're going to ride them," Ethan told his friends. Kyle made note of the sarcasm in Ethan's voice.

"Huh?" Kira was stumped.

Conner looked regretfully at the group. "Look, I have to get back to tryouts. Can you guys handle this?"

Tommy put a hand on Conner's arm. "Yeah. The others can fill you in later."

With a final "Good luck" Conner was gone. Tommy and the four teens ran back to the basement lab. He dismissed everyone but Theresa offered to stay and help her dad train the Raptor Riders.

* * *

><p>Ethan blasted a virtual alien later that day in Hayley's café. "Man, Dr. O and his family are into some weird and funky stuff." He looked up to see Kyle glaring at him from across the table. "No offense, bro, but I don't even want to think about what he and T are hatching in that cave right now."<p>

"No offense taken. Dad explained to me once what they're supposed to be but I kinda tuned him out. The Riders are more bio than tech and bio is T's specialty."

Kira didn't look up from the report she was typing on her own laptop. "I have a feeling we won't have to wait too long to find out." Kira turned toward the entrance only to see a very cute Hispanic boy in a gray button down enter the café.

"Whoa! Who is that?"

Ethan and Kyle looked in the direction of the entrance. Kyle just shrugged. "I don't know."

Ethan waved a hand in front of Kira's face. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Kira couldn't stop staring. "He's really…wow! Isn't he?"

"Can I get you a glass of water, maybe an oxygen mask?" Ethan asked Kira with a smirk. The two quickly turned back to their computers.

"Quiet! He's coming over here!"

"Hey. I'm looking for Hayley. I'm supposed to start work today."

Ethan looked around. "She's around here somewhere."

Kyle squinted at the newcomer. He felt like he knew the boy in white somehow, but he just couldn't place it. Kyle was terrible with names and faces. Both of his parents could name every single Ranger and their color to date so it wasn't something he inherited. Then the Green Ranger remembered. "Haven't I seen you at Reefside?"

"Yeah, I just moved here last week. My name's Trent." He shook Ethan and Kyle's hands as the boys introduced themselves. Kira had yet to say a word. Trent tried to get the Yellow Ranger's attention.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"She doesn't speak," Ethan stated with mock sadness. "We've been trying for years but we just can't get through."

Kira glared at her friend. "I'm fine. It's nice to meet you."

Hayley chose that moment to make her appearance. "Trent. Good timing. Come with me and I'll get you started." The redhead turned to Kyle. "Your mom called. She wants you back at the gym."

"Crap! I forgot!" Kyle booked it out of the café. His parents were all for Ranger duties interrupting practices and workouts so long as their children returned to finish. Kim could only come up with so many excuses for Gregory. After all, who knew better than them how much Ranger responsibilities interfered with everyday life?

Ethan saw another opportunity for mockery as Hayley led Trent away. "Isn't he just so…wow?"

* * *

><p>Cam called Theresa over the basement communication system just as she and Tommy finished taming the Orange and Green Raptor Riders. The other three were proving extremely obstinate. "Blake should be racing in Reefside in a few months."<p>

Theresa smiled. Her Thunder Ranger friend chose to race professionally after the defeat of Lothor. Factory Blue was happy to have a racer of Blake's quality. "Any news on the romance front?"

Cam sighed. "Unfortunately not. Both Blake and Tori are extremely busy and long-distance relationships have a tendency not to last."

Theresa nodded sadly. She missed seeing Cam everyday. She missed holding his hand. She missed kissing him. "I miss you too. How's your schedule at the academy?"

"We have several new students that have to be sorted into their elements. Dad wants me to oversee the recruits."

Theresa's eyes widened. Deciding which element suited which student was usually the job of the head sensei. Cam's father was starting to groom his son to inherit the academy. It also took up a lot of time. Time that could be spent with his girlfriend.

A loud crash behind her caught her attention. Her dad was not having any luck taming the red, blue, or yellow Raptor Riders. "Theresa! Get off the phone with your boyfriend and help me!"

Theresa sighed. "Coming!" She turned back toward Cam. "Duty calls. I'll call you later."

Cam caressed the screen as if he could reach through and caress her silky brown locks. "I love you."

"I love you too." Theresa disconnected and returned to helping her dad. Finding time to talk to Cam was becoming a chore. She had hoped to take the weekend and drive down to Blue Bay. She missed the academy and she missed her boyfriend. No one in her family was ever Rangers over their year in Blue Bay. Theresa met Cam through Kim's cousin Kelly and her sports shop.

Both were shy at first. Theresa never had a crush on anyone before so her feelings for Cameron Watanabe surprised her. Theresa heard about the local Power Rangers shortly after moving to Blue Bay. Who hadn't? It took her all of three seconds in Kelly's shop to figure out who the Rangers were. Normal people didn't wear giant morphers on their wrists and coordinate their wardrobe to their Ranger color. Theresa glanced down at her own orange t-shirt and blue jeans and groaned. She was never going to get all this gook off, she just knew it.

The sound of the cave door opening broke her out of her reverie. A blue tail knocked Theresa across the lab. She accumulated more dirt and gook for her trouble.

"Don't come in! It's not safe!" Tommy yelled. He ducked a flying piece of equipment.

"We kinda got that." The blue tail sent boxes flying. Tommy was sent flying with the boxes. He landed right in front of the teens.

"Is that what was in those eggs?" Ethan made a face at Theresa's appearance.

Theresa skidded up to her dad. "Yeah, we're trying to train them."

"How's it comin'," asked Ethan as more stuff went flying.

"Slowly." Tommy ducked a red tail. "It's funny. We had no trouble taming the Green and Orange Riders. It's the remaining three that are being difficult."

Conner was hesitant to bring up whatever problem was on his mind. Dr. O was clearly preoccupied. "Look, I can see you're very busy with…whatever, but, well…I need to talk."

The red tail from earlier launched Tommy into the cavern, leaving Theresa alone to deal with the Riders. Tommy lay on the cavern floor and was positively covered in slime. Ethan made a disgusted face when he helped Tommy to stand. His hand was now covered in the same slime as Dr. O.

"I guess I can take a break."

Theresa's method of dealing with the Raptors was to give each one a large dose of sedatives, as these were more dinosaurs than machine. She quickly joined her dad and the troubled Conner in the cavern with Kira and Ethan. The elder Oliver sent a questioning glance toward his daughter.

**All three Riders can't be tamed already.**

Theresa just shrugged. **They're asleep. Drugged them. Better this way. Now I can help you help Conner 'cause you're no teen counselor. **

"You gotta find someone to replace me," Conner started. That shut Theresa up as the others gaped at the soccer player. Ethan and Kira spoke at the same time.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're talking crazy." The Blue and Yellow Rangers couldn't believe their ears. They'd been a team for not even two whole weeks yet and already Conner wanted to quit? Theresa worried that Conner couldn't physically quit. The gem was completely bonded to him at this point. It would be useless for someone else until Conner died. She also had a vague idea why Conner wanted to walk away.

"All right, settle down, you two." The former Ranger could only sigh. "What's the problem?"

Conner shrugged helplessly. "I'm a soccer player. That's all I've ever wanted to do."

The tune sounded familiar to Tommy. It was what he told Kim when she had her chance to make the gymnastics team going to the Pan Global Games. Katherine said the same thing when her opportunity came up to dance with a prestigious company in London. Carlos and TJ had their dreams dashed when they outed themselves as Power Rangers years ago. So many Rangers prior to Conner had to choose. What did Conner want more, the chance to save the world on a weekly basis or play professional soccer at seventeen?

"Now, every moment of my life has led up to playing on a pro team. I get the greatest chance of my life and I blow it."

Tommy again glanced at his daughter. Theresa simply nodded her head once. "We understand. And you're right."

Ethan glared at his teacher. "You're agreeing with him?"

"Conner, I know how you feel. My wife knows how you feel, probably better than anyone. We've all felt that way before. I want you to think about this before you do anything."

"No offense, Dr. O. but I doubt Kimberly had to choose between being a Power Ranger and chasing her dreams."

**That's exactly what Kim had to decide. She would've been great if I hadn't gotten her pregnant.**

Theresa mentally slapped her dad upside his head. **No brooding! We have a Red Ranger with a crisis, Riders to tame, and freaky dinosaur man that wants us all dead! You can brood later!**

Kira faced Conner. "Look, I've got things I want to do but I'm here. I'm dealing."

Conner sneered at his friend. "Good for you. Guess I'm just different." The Red Ranger took off down the tunnel.

Quitting being a Power Ranger for something like soccer was not something Ethan could quite grasp. For him, there was nothing better than being a Power Ranger. For the first time in his life, he was doing something good, something worthwhile.

"Whoa. And I thought the red guy was supposed to be the leader."

Theresa took off after Conner. "Wait! Stop! Please!"

Conner stopped. The brunette in orange caught up to him. "I know you feel like because you had to help us today you blew your shot at playing pro. My mom was in almost the exact situation. She was seventeen when she discovered she was pregnant with us. Mom was training to make the Pan Global Games as a gymnast. According to all our parents' friends, Mom had what it took. She's still a great gymnast. But she had to decide between raising Ky and I or going for the Pan Globals. She didn't have an easy time of it, either."

"Seventeen? Where was your dad?"

"Mom trained in Florida. Dad still lived in Angel Grove. Mom broke up with Dad shortly after arriving in Florida. She was scared and alone and felt my dad deserved someone a little closer to home."

"What did your mom do without her gymnastics? Didn't she miss it?"

"Of course she missed it. Raising twins and going to school and working took up so much of her time. To this day, my mom insists she made the right choice. She could've had an abortion and stayed on the Pan Global team."

"Are you telling me this story so I learn some kind of lesson?"

Theresa could have knocked Conner's thick skull against the cavern wall. "No. I'm telling you this so you can realize what an idiot you are!"

Conner could only snort before turning and walking away. Theresa groaned and returned to the lab. She had groggy Raptors to deal with.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Tommy and Kim watched on the computer screen as a walking, leafy monster tore apart Downtown.<p>

"Not good."

Kim sighed. "Is it me or are the monsters getting uglier?"

Tommy shook his head. "Mesogog definitely knows how to make the most hideous monsters. Nothing Zedd or Rita created was ever this disgusting." The former Ranger of many colors typed, opening communications on all five morphers.

"Guys, we have a situation. There's a monster attacking the city. People are in danger."

* * *

><p>The Red, Blue, and Yellow Rangers morphed in the park. Green and Orange did the same behind Kim's gym. All five met up in front of a warehouse. They tried hand-to-hand combat against the monster. It only succeeded in pissing the monster off and landing the Rangers on their backs. They got back up. The guys shot the monster with their blasters. The monster fled.<p>

"He's getting away!"

"We'll never catch him!"

Their morphers beeped. Kim's voice came through. "You can. Meet the Raptor Riders."

Five semi-mechanical beasts ran towards the Rangers. All jumped on a chased after the strange monster. Theresa was so excited she bounced in her seat. The Riders were excellent! Just what was needed! They cornered the creature using the Riders and their weapons. The creature went flying. Ethan and Kira hopped onto Conner's Rider and combined weapons. Theresa combined her own weapon with her brother's to form a powerful crossbow. The dual blasts destroyed the monster. Kyle and Theresa knew better than to celebrate. Mesogog would only make it bigger. All the villains had some way to supersize their monsters. That was why every Ranger team had zords.

Of course, Ethan, Conner, and Kira had no experience with such things.

"Dr. O., we may have a problem on our hands!"

Back in the lab, Tommy typed furiously into the computer. "Let me guess, the 30 story version of that guy you were just fighting?"

"You sound like you've done this before!"

The Olivers glanced at one another and then back at the video linkup with Ethan.

"Once or twice," Tommy replied.

**A week for five years, maybe! **Kyle exclaimed mentally to his parents and sister.

Tommy ignored his son. He really couldn't argue with the comment. "I'm sending in the Dino Zords." Kim typed beside him.

The teens leapt into their zords as soon as they arrived. Tommy's research hadn't gotten so far as to figure out how to combine all five individual zords into a single Megazord. For now, two separate megazords formed. Conner, Ethan, and Kira controlled one while Theresa and Kyle controlled the other.

Kira sent her pterarang just before Theresa started her tiger strike. One final strike with Conner's Dino Drill finished off the monster for good.

All five Rangers landed on the ground. Tommy and Kim sent the zords back to hiding places. The little girl Conner saved earlier ran up to him.

"Thank you!" Conner knelt down and hugged the little girl.

"Anytime." Underneath the helmet, Conner lowered his eyes. That little girl taught Conner a lesson he sorely needed to learn. Soccer would always be there. Being able to make the world safe for that little girl was what was important now.

* * *

><p>Kira fidgeted with her guitar the next day. It was just moments before her gig at Hayley's and she was nervous. Trent came over and wished her luck. She accepted the bottle of water from his tray as well. Kyle, Theresa, and Ethan sat at one of the tables close to the stage. Kim sat on a stool by the bar. She was just waiting for Tommy. The former Pink Ranger had some very good news she couldn't wait to share with her family. But Tommy deserved to know first. Well, maybe good news. Good news for normal couples.<p>

Conner came over to the trio at the table and apologized for considering leaving. Kyle smiled. "It's cool. We all have to make that choice sometime. And, just sometimes, there's a little girl that reminds us why we fight."

Kyle couldn't say anymore as Hayley introduced Kira. The Yellow Ranger started her song. She really was extremely talented, Theresa thought. While Kira sang, Ethan glanced around. Someone was missing.

"Hey, wasn't Dr. O. supposed to be here?"

* * *

><p>Outside Hayley's, Tommy stopped. Five years as a Ranger and sixteen years of being a parent left his senses sharp. The wind picked up. There wasn't supposed to be any wind. Tyrannodrones appeared in front of him. The invisiportal explained the wind. Zeltrax and more drones came in behind. Tommy was trapped. He tried fighting but it was no use. The drones overpowered him and sucked him up into a portal.<p>

* * *

><p>The End of Wave Goodbye.<p>

I made some minor edits and improvements. I noticed some words missing and added those in.


	4. Chapter 4

Family Rangers: A Dino Thunder AU

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this third part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p><strong>Legacy of Power<strong>

* * *

><p>The tyrannodrones had their claws on Tommy. They forced him into the main chamber of Mesogog's lair. Mesogog kept his back to the group.<p>

"My lord, the prisoner," Zeltrax reported.

"Finally." The dinosaur villain didn't turn around. "Tie him to the life force extractor."

Tommy didn't like the sounds of those words. He struggled but it was no use. "What do you want with me?"

"How rude of me not to explain. My senses tell me this stone encases a power source that will be most useful to me." Mesogog pointed toward a black stone encased in a sort of amber.

The drones strapped Tommy into the long chair. He fought them, never showing his fear. Being a Ranger for so long taught him to never let the enemy know he dreaded them.

"Alas, all my efforts to retrieve this power source have been less then successful. That's where you come in."

One look at the black stone encased in some sort of amber was all Tommy needed to know what the stone was. Even trapped, the power called to him, the stone glowed. Inwardly, Tommy groaned. That was exactly what he needed, to wield that power again.

"Sorry, can't help you there. I'm just a high school science teacher."

Mesogog brought his face close to Tommy's own face.

"Really? A high school science teacher who has just happens to have taught five brats, two of which are your own offspring, to become Power Rangers. I know you know what's inside this stone. You're going to help me get it out or you will not like the consequences."

"Worse than you have tried, Mesogog. What makes you think you'll succeed where Rita, Zedd, Mondo, and Divatox failed?" Tommy kept eye contact with Mesogog.

Mesogog didn't answer. He just moved a nasty, pointy instrument over Tommy's chest. Tommy struggled to no avail.

* * *

><p>All the Rangers assembled in Tommy's basement. Kim remained upstairs contacting old friends. No one knew anything about where Tommy disappeared.<p>

"This is bad," Kira muttered.

"Way bad. Worse than crashing after getting to level 9 in SNSW," Ethan replied. Four people stared blankly at the Blue Ranger. "Super Ninja Space Wars."

Conner tried to rationalize. "Okay, look, don't you think we're getting a little too freaked out about this?"

Theresa looked at Conner. "My dad didn't show up to meet my mom, didn't show up for Kira's gig (which were happening in the same place at the same time), didn't come home then misses a full day of school without calling. I'd say we've achieved the right level of freaking out."

**Besides, the last time your dad disappeared without a trace, his island exploded. Then he and all the other Reds took off for the moon to destroy Serpentera. And before that, he was brainwashed by Gasket. Nothing good comes from a Tommy Oliver disappearance. **Kim mentally reminded her kids.

Ethan moved toward the computer bank. "I guess there's only one way to find out what the good doctor and his family have been up to." Ethan shot a look to Kyle and the Green Ranger glared at his friend in return.

Kyle intercepted Ethan. "You are NOT hacking into my dad's computer. I'll bring up what you need to see. Nothing more than that." Kyle sat down and typed. "I'm in."

Kira glanced at Kyle. "Yeah, but where?" Kyle winked at her and sat back.

A video of Tommy and Kim began playing.

_I'm Tommy Oliver and this is my wife, Kimberly Hart-Oliver. If you're not us, then something is seriously wrong. If you're our kids, butt out. You already know all this. This video is a confidential record only to be viewed in case of an emergency._

Kira peeked at Theresa. "What kind of emergencies do your parents get into that require a recorded video stored on their hard drive?"

Theresa held Kira's gaze. "You're about to find out."

_What you're about to see is a history of our lives._

Conner faked a yawn. "More dinosaur bone stories. Yawn." The Red Ranger turned to leave but Theresa blocked his path.

_Our histories…as Power Rangers._

Ethan blinked several times. Conner turned back to the screen and gawked. Now he was interested. Kira glanced from one Oliver to the other.

"You knew. You knew all about your parents' pasts!"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Of course we knew! And before you start in about how you should've been told, we were getting around to it. _Our parents were Power Rangers_. It's not the kind of thing you just blurt out."

Kira took Kyle's admonition then recalled something, pointing between Theresa and Kyle. "This is what you meant. When Theresa said you two were born to be Rangers. Your parents were Rangers. You inherited the power from them."

Theresa smiled and nodded. "Good memory. But plenty of former Rangers have kids now but not all of them are Rangers. Most aren't even old enough, yet. Being the child of a Ranger just means there's a higher percentage you will be a Power Ranger yourself."

"While this is all fascinating, can we get back to the video now?" Conner asked. Kira restarted the video. Kimberly narrated the first part.

_Our story begins in Angel Grove. My friends and I, five teenagers with attitude, were recruited to fight the evil space sorceress Rita Repulsa. We harnessed the power of the dinosaur to become Earth's first Power Rangers._

Tommy's voice took over for Kimberly's.

_Under the guidance of intergalactic being Zordon, Trini, Zack, Kim, Billy, and Jason bravely defended Earth. This forced Rita to create her own Ranger._

Virtual Tommy paused and took a deep breath. In the real world, Kyle reached out and took his sister's hand. While they've never seen their dad evilly mad, they have seen him angry enough for his eyes to flash green. It happened so rarely that each time was an occasion to be remembered. They knew what came next in the diary.

"Okay, so where's your dad?" Kira questioned the twins. She didn't have to wait long for her questioned to be answered. The next bit of video was of Tommy and Kimberly meeting for the first time. Kim stood by her locker in Angel Grove High School and asked Tommy to meet her at the Youth Center later that day. Rita then abducted Young Tommy.

_Her evil magic was too strong. I couldn't fight it. She commanded me to destroy the Power Rangers. I almost succeeded. But my friends never gave up. In one last battle, Jason destroyed the Sword of Darkness and I was freed._

Ethan glanced between Theresa and Kyle. "Do your dad's eyes still flash that scary green?"

"Only when he's really upset or angry," Theresa replied quietly.

"It's only happened maybe four times that we know of," Kyle added.

Virtual Tommy continued.

_And that's when I joined the team. But not for long. I soon discovered the Green Ranger powers were only temporary._

Virtual Kimberly added her two cents to the story.

_It was just after Tommy lost his Green Ranger powers that he asked me out on our first date. It turned out to be our last date for several months. Tommy isolated himself from the rest of us, feeling as though he didn't fit in with us anymore since he didn't have powers. The few times we talked, Tommy said he felt left out when we morphed. All Tommy could do was watch while his friends battled for their lives against Rita's monsters. To sit on the sidelines and watch people you know and love, fight tooth and nail just to survive, it's not easy._

_ Zordon had a surprise for us one day. He and Alpha worked day and night to create a whole new Ranger, with new powers that couldn't be taken by the forces of evil. We all wanted the new Ranger to be Tommy but we accepted that Zordon knew what he was doing. _Virtual Kim laughed at her husband._ Tommy still gives me grief for fainting when he removed his new helmet. _

Ethan paused the video just after Tommy was introduced as the White Ranger.

"Why did you do that for?" Kira asked Ethan.

"Because I'm so buggin' I can't even deal!"

Conner was just as excited. "Our teacher and his wife are the oldest living Power Rangers!"

"Not just the oldest but the best," said a voice from behind the group.

Three of them were surprised to find the café owner and a guy her age in blue jeans and a blue cotton button-down shirt. Glasses adorned his face. Two couldn't be less surprised.

"Hayley?" Ethan queried.

Theresa ran over to her dad's friend and they hugged. The blond man in blue also hugged Theresa. Kyle said his hellos to the pair. Hayley surveyed Theresa.

"How are you holding up?"

Theresa shrugged. "I'm the one dealing. Mom's upstairs. She's been calling former Rangers all day."

Billy Cranston could understand his friend's worry. This was the woman who insisted on teleporting into an alternate dimension while six months pregnant (with twins!) to save the father of her unborn children.

"I'll go up and talk to her." Billy squeezed Hayley's hand. He disappeared up the stairs.

The primary colored Rangers were still hung up on the fact that Hayley was there at all and the original Blue Ranger was a close friend.

"How did you get in here?"

"More to the point, what do you know about any of this?" Conner and Kira fired off two questions in rapid succession.

"I know that Tom's in trouble. Kim called Billy. Billy, being my boyfriend, informed me." Hayley stepped forward. "You five are the only ones who can help him."

"That was Billy who just went to talk to Kim?" Ethan wondered.

Hayley smiled. "I met Tommy first in college and then Kim. Through the pair, I met Billy."

"And that's the same Billy that was the original Blue Ranger?" Ethan persisted.

"You're sharp." Hayley got back on track. "Billy and I have been helping Tommy prepare the Ranger energy since grad school. Who do you think built the morphers?"

"Dad's good with dinosaurs and fossils and martial arts but a rocket scientist he ain't," Kyle added.

"And let me guess, you and Billy are?" Conner asked the woman.

Hayley gave a quirky little smile. "Among other things."

Kira tried to keep up. "Okay, so you know who we are. You know what we are. Do you know where Dr. Oliver is?"

Everyone looked toward Hayley.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." Hayley produced a disc from her bag. She inserted the disc into the computer and took Kyle's vacated seat. "This is a surveillance tape from the night of your gig, Kira."

The grainy green video displayed Tommy being abducted by Zeltrax and tyrannodrones.

"Why didn't he just morph? I mean, he is a Power Ranger," wondered Conner.

Kim's voice replied from the stairs. "He can't. Not for long, at least. We were Rangers. We don't have that power anymore."

"What about that ninja getup your kids wear?"

Kim shook her head at Conner's suggestion. "Mine and Tommy's Ninjetti powers are temporary at best. It's been so long since we've tapped into those powers."

"Then how can your kids do it?" Conner crossed his arms and glared at Kim.

Kim sat down on a stair and faced the Red Ranger. "Kyle and Theresa inherited their Ninjetti powers from both Tommy and I. We've discovered that if Ninjetti powers are inherited and one goes through the Desert of Despair, the powers never fade. "

"While this is fascinating and all, can we get back on point?" Ethan asked the group. Kyle sighed and started the video again. Virtual Tommy narrated.

_A new villain, Lord Zedd, was destroying Earth, and with three Rangers leaving, a new power source had to be found. Trini, Zack, and Jason passed on their powers and three new Rangers stepped forward. It was just in time because Rita and Zedd teamed up to form our most powerful enemy yet. They brought with them a new terror, Rito Revolto. Our new team fought bravely but it wasn't enough. Rito destroyed our zords. _

_ A Ranger never gives up. Zordon sent us on a quest to find Ninjor, a warrior from the past who showed us the secrets of the ancient Ninjetti. Our quest complete, we gained new weapons, new zords, and new enemies. But along with new friends came new enemies._

Virtual Kimberly took over for her husband.

_When I chose to leave Angel Grove, Katherine Hillard was the only choice. She overcame the evil spell Rita placed her under and saved my life when I fell off the balance beam. By this point, Tommy and I were a firmly established couple. I was instantly aware of the crush the blonde had on my boyfriend but felt Kat deserved a chance to do real good in the world. Kat also helped me in overcoming the fear I developed from my accident. I was offered a chance to train in Florida for the Pan-Global Games as a gymnast and I accepted. I went and Tommy and I agreed on a long-distance relationship._

Virtual Tommy resumed the narration of the Ranger history.

_Katherine assumed the Pink Ranger power and just in time. We were under attack. We got out of the Command Center just as Rita and Zedd succeeded in destroying it. Beneath the ruins, we found the Zeo crystal, a mystical power that guided us into the next chapter of our lives as Rangers._

Ethan interrupted the video. "Just wondering, how many colors has Dr. O worn?"

"Green, white, and red twice," Kim answered him.

"That's a lot of wardrobe changes."

No one commented and Kyle resumed the video.

_The Zeo powers were awesome but when we needed reinforcements, we turned to an old friend. _

Virtual Kimberly recounted the more personal history.

_It was during this time I discovered I was pregnant. Instead of telling Tommy, I became fearful and sent him a horrible breakup letter. I was alone and not practicing due to my pregnancy. Anyone I wanted to talk to was across the country or in Geneva. I managed to stay in touch with Billy. He teleported into my apartment one night and hooked my TV into the viewing globe in the Power Chamber. Zordon kept me informed of what was happening with the Rangers. Before Jason returned to Angel Grove, he visited me in Miami. So three individuals knew I was pregnant and couldn't let Tommy know._

_ I was six months pregnant when Tommy and I reunited after I saved him from Prince Gasket's brainwashing. After that, we truly were inseparable._

Virtual Tommy smiled and kissed virtual Kimberly chastely on the lips before returning to his story.

_Jason returned and assumed the power of the Gold Ranger. After high school graduation and the birth of our twins, Kyle and Theresa, we were ready to face the world. But not before going on one last adventure as Power Rangers. It was time to shift into a higher gear. The old Rangers were gone forever but the Turbo Rangers were born. A space pirate named Divatox launched an attack on Earth. We were given the powers of Turbo and took her head on…with a little help. T.J., Cassie, Ashley, and Carlos proved they had what it took. They took over when Kat, Adam, Tanya, and I chose to go our separate ways._

Hayley paused the video just as Tommy chose T.J. to be the new Red Turbo Ranger. "After that, Tommy and Kim went to college, where they met yours truly."

Kira was busy adding and subtracting dates in her head. Given the current year and the twins were going on seventeen…she turned in surprise at the older woman. "You were only eighteen when you had them?"

Kim cocked her head. "I was wondering how long it would take for someone to do the math."

"How did you two manage?" The musician shook her head in amazement.

"We had great friends and my mom and stepdad let us live above their garage before college. They moved with us to Boston. Mom was more than happy to take the twins during our classes and when we had to work. Our friends are all like second parents to the twins. Then Tommy found the Dino Gems on a dig and he knew he could never escape the power for long."

Ethan again interrupted. "Seeing as how I don't want this to be the end of the line, can we get back on the subject of finding your husband?"

Kira had an idea. "Hey, I just thought of something. What about Invisiportals? They're all over the city. If we could find one, we could get into Mesogog's lab."

Hayley, with Kyle assisting, typed commands into the computer.

"I've been working on that very thing. Unfortunately, I need just a little more time."

Conner glanced between Hayley and Kyle. "Okay, so what are we supposed to do while you're doing that?"

Kyle restarted the video. "Here, watch more of our heritage. You might learn something."

**The odds of which aren't very good.**

** Kyle Jason! Be nice. **

** Yes, Mom!**

Virtual Tommy spoke again.

_Divatox was tough and the pirahnatrons were relentless. Divatox wasn't ready to give up and staged a fearsome attack, taking out the Turbo Rangers' Command Center and their powers with it. She headed for space and Earth's ultimate destruction. The Rangers knew they had to follow Divatox into space and embarked on the most dangerous mission, leaving behind the world they knew…forever._

_ The journey into space was treacherous and the line between friend and foe was a thin one. Andros proved he was more than a friend. He was just the kind of leader they would need to fight a new enemy. And enemy called…Astronema. They thought they had no hope. But Andros brought them the Astro Morphers, bringing forth a new team. The Space Rangers freed Zhane from his deep freeze."_

Theresa interrupted the video with a snort of disgust. "That's not how that happened. The Megaship crashed on a planet. The not-friendly natives got on board and tore the ship apart, thereby shutting down Zhane's cryogenic field."

"I think Dad's just trying to be concise, sis." Kyle restarted the video.

Theresa sat on a step and pouted.

_The Silver Ranger was a noble addition to the team. Together, they defeated Astronema._

"Who turned out to be Andros' sister and is alive and well on KO-35 with Andros, Ashley, and Zhane," Theresa muttered. She hated revisionist history.

_The Earth was safe._

Virtual Kimberly took over for the next segment.

_But deep in space, another battle raged. On the distant planet of Mirinoi, five new heroes, Leo, Damon, Kendrix, Maya, and Kai, retrieved the Galaxy Sabers and were chosen to be the Power Rangers of the Lost Galaxy. They would have to combine their powers if they were to defeat their mortal enemy Trakeena. Trakeena threatened to destroy the space colony Terra Venture and took on a horrifying new form. Red Ranger and his Battlyzer were the colony's only hope. With Trakeena destroyed, the people of Terra Venture were forever grateful to the Rangers of the Lost Galaxy._

Virtual Tommy took over for the segment on Lightspeed Rescue.

Theresa noticed her mom wasn't looking too good. She went over and sat next to her. "You okay, Mom?"

Kim looked over at her daughter. "Yeah, I'm good. I just need your dad back, that's all."

"You've been sick lately, though. Don't think we haven't noticed."

"I know you and Ky are worried. I just need some rest. And your dad."

Theresa hugged her mom. "We'll get him home. Just wait and see."

_Meanwhile, back on Earth, an elite team was being put together to fight a new battle against an invasion of demons. The Lightspeed Rangers needed one more to complete their mission. That's when Ryan joined the team._

Hayley paused the video. Ethan objected. "Hey! I was watching that!"

"Sorry, but we've got something."

"What? You've found him?" Kim rushed forward. She needed her husband home soon.

Hayley cocked her head. "Almost. I've got a lock on the back door to Mesogog's firewall. In theory, it should lead us straight to an invisiportal."

"Then what?" Kira wondered.

"I'll let you know when I get there."

* * *

><p>Back in Mesogog's lab, the walking dinosaur still attempted to get Tommy to release what was trapped in the amber.<p>

"Once I access the power in this rock, my dream of returning the planet to its prehistoric roots will be a mere formality."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Why can't you just want to rule the Earth like all the other sickos?"

Mesogog came closer. "Are you going to tell me how to open that stone or not?"

"Take a wild guess."

Mesogog hissed and pressed a button on the console nearest him. The machine hovering above him pulsed with pink energy. Really? Pink?

"Why are they always so stubborn?" Mesogog wondered this to no one in particular. Tommy wondered how he was going to extract himself from his current predicament. Hopefully, help was on the way.

* * *

><p>Hayley just couldn't get through Mesogog's firewall. Conner was growing impatient. "So, what's happened?"<p>

"Either Kyle and I are losing our touch or Mesogog's really smart…for a mutant freak," Hayley muttered. Billy took the seat to Hayley's left and also began to type. All six screens dissolved from static into another video.

"What's it doing now?" Ethan wondered.

"It's retrieving more Ranger history," Billy replied.

Ethan leaned over and paused the video just after a young brunette woman explained that she and her friends came from the year 3000 in search of a mutant criminal. "Whoa, hold up. Power Rangers who came from the future?"

Kira had a thought. "They're down with time travel, right? Couldn't they take us back to the moment when Tommy was kidnapped?"

Kimberly shook her head. "The four members of that team who came from the future had to return. We currently have no way of contacting them."

Kira was discouraged but restarted the video anyway. Kim's voice came through the speakers.

_Rangers from the future chased a mutant criminal through time. But it took a modern day hero to help finish the job. It took a while for Eric to learn that the greatest virtue of being a Ranger was not the power…but the reward of helping mankind._

Conner put out an idea. "What about all the other Rangers? I mean there must be hundreds of them all over the place."

Billy glanced at Kim. "It's not that simple. Most Rangers don't have their powers anymore. Those that do live too far away and have their own lives. We try not to involve them unless we absolutely have to. For instance, half the Space Rangers only live on Earth half the time. Currently, they're on KO-35."

"Some never even wanted their powers at all," Hayley added to Billy's explanation. More Ranger history played. Tommy's voice came out of the speakers this time.

_Cole joined, and the Wild Force Rangers used spirits of the ancient animals to fight the evil Orgs-creatures determined to conquer Earth through pollution and destruction. The final team member to join was Merrick, the Lunar Wolf._

"And meanwhile, back in reality, we still have no way to find Dad," Kyle mumbled.

"I know there's at least one more group of Rangers out there," Hayley said. "They had a guy named Cam. He was even more of a genius at this stuff than I am."

Theresa smiled. "Cam's my boyfriend. We all know the Ninja Storm Rangers. We lived in Blue Bay last year. Mom's cousin owns a sports shop. It's totally the place to hang in Blue Bay."

Her friends just eyed her. Hayley, Kyle, and Billy just continued to type, still trying to find a way past Mesogog's firewall. Conner's eyes got big.

"My twin brother went to that same super-secret ninja school. Everyone there knew a few students got chosen to be Rangers."

Ethan just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Your brother was a Power Ranger?"

"Nah. He couldn't even finish ninja school. He's, like, a total airhead. We're so different."

**Remind not to meet his brother. One empty-headed McKnight is about all I can handle!** Kyle sent this only to his sister. He didn't want his mom berating him again.

**I agree!**

"Mmmm," was all Kira could say. Hayley pulled up the video on the Ninja Storm Rangers.

"Look, I found them."

To the surprise of all, Theresa's visage appeared on the computer screen. Kimberly glared at her daughter. The Orange Ranger had apparently gotten into the diary and rerecorded the Ninja Storm segment.

"When did you alter this?"

"A few weeks ago. It was hardly difficult. You guys really need to pick better passwords."

_Three unlikely ninja students commanded the powers of air, water, and earth. It was the power of thunder, in the form of brainwashed brothers Blake and Hunter Bradley, which gave them their biggest challenge. These great enemies proved to be the allies the Ninja Rangers needed if they were going to defeat the evil Space Ninja Lothor. With Earth on the brink of destruction, my boyfriend, Cam, traveled back in time to retrieve the one power that could save them all-the power of the Green Samurai Ranger. In their final battle against Lothor, the Rangers made the ultimate sacrifice._

Ethan couldn't contain his excitement. "Whoa! Ninjas are real!"

Theresa crossed her arms. "What are my brother and I? Chopped liver?"

"Hey, my brother taught me some of his moves. Check it out." Conner tornado kicked the server and static replaced the video. Sparks flew from the damaged server. Everyone in the room groaned and glared at the Red Ranger.

"Oh, please tell me that did not just happen!" Kyle looked about ready to murder Conner.

"I think we just lost our last hope of finding Dad," Theresa bemoaned from her place beside her mom. Conner could only goggle, openmouthed, at the smoking server tower.

Hayley typed while Billy checked to make sure nothing was too broken on the server. "Got it!" Hayley exclaimed. Billy patted his girlfriend's shoulder.

"We are so glad you guys are geniuses!" The current Blue Ranger enthused.

"Even geniuses need help sometimes. That little jolt must've done something to the wiring 'cause I'm getting something."

Tommy's face appeared on the central screen.

_With the return of Mesogog, it became necessary to invoke the power of the Dino Gems. Should anything happen to my wife or me; these five are charged with protecting the planet._

Each of the five screens showed one Ranger, their morphing sequences with their zords behind them.

"It's us," Kira said quietly.

_You're in good hands._

Conner sighed heavily. "He really trusts us."

"We have to save him. We owe him." Ethan agreed.

"The whole world owes him."

The three Olivers and Billy were silent. These three needed to figure this out for themselves. The computer's beeping interrupted the quiet moment.

"It worked! I've got a lock on an invisiportal." Hayley's call brought everyone back to the computer. Conner was getting fired up. "Let's go save a teacher."

* * *

><p>Back on Mesogog's island, Tommy struggled against his bindings as the life force extractor came ever closer…<p>

* * *

><p>TBC! Again this update just streamlines my grammar.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fourth part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p><strong>Back in Black<strong>

* * *

><p>"I've got a lock on a portal!" Hayley exclaimed.<p>

Conner rubbed his hands together. "We're on it."

Hayley turned in her chair as the five Rangers hurried to leave. "Remember, you have to reach a speed of 536 MPH upon entry. Otherwise, you'll never make it past the security wall and probably be ripped to pieces!"

That got the teens' attention. All five turned back toward Billy and Hayley.

"Did my significant other neglect to mention that?" Billy asked of the five spooked kids. Hayley looked over her shoulder. Kim now stood by the bank of computers. The silence was all the confirmation Hayley needed.

"I'll take that as a yes. Never fear."

Kim picked up for Hayley. "We have something for just such an occasion." The former Pink Ranger pressed a single button and a wall rolled up to the teens' left. Five supercharged bikes in Ranger colors sat waiting. Even Theresa was impressed. She didn't know anything about these bikes. How did her parents keep these beauties hidden?

While the others admired the new vehicles, Kim came over to her daughter. "How?" The brunette teen wondered. "I thought I knew all about our inventory."

Kim nudged Theresa with her shoulder. "We had Hayley and Billy work on them in his garage. And not knowing what's coming next is half the fun. Not even you are all-knowing."

Theresa smiled at her mom and joined the others just as Conner gestured toward the bikes. "Which one's mine?"

His teammates could only look at him in amazement.

"I'm kidding."

Ethan smirked. "Oh, you so weren't kidding."

Conner shook his head with a tight grimace. Hayley introduced the Rangers to their new modes of transport. "These are your new Raptor Cycles. They should have you to the portal coordinates in 92.75 seconds."

Kira glanced at Hayley. "And when we get there?"

"Use your gems to access the hyper drive, then head straight through the portal to Mesogog's island fortress."

Conner's head shot up. "Wait. Did you just say **island fortress**?"

"Yes, why?" Hayley wondered, could he really be admitting to this?

The Red Ranger couldn't believe he was admitting this. "Well, islands-they're surrounded by water."

"Usually." Still, Hayley held her tongue.

Kyle was the first to figure out Conner's problem. "No…you can't swim?"

"I didn't say that." Conner crossed his arms.

"But it's true. You can't." Kyle was going to have so much fun with that bit of info, he just knew it. A glare from Hayley got both boys back on track.

"The invisiportal will take you directly to the island. You'll never have to get wet." Hayley returned to Billy and Kim at the computers. Ethan saw his opportunity to rag on his leader.

"You can't swim." He chuckled. Conner just glared at his friend.

"Whatever, dudes." He glanced at his teammates. "You guys ready?"

All five morphed and mounted their bikes. The portal opened to take them into the woods surrounding the Oliver house. "Let's do it!"

Kim watched as the Rangers took off through the portal. "May the power protect you," she stated quietly. A spasm racked her stomach. Tommy needed to get home, soon.

* * *

><p>"This is your final chance, Doctor Oliver. Free the gem from its resting place, or feel the wrath of my disappointment."<p>

Tommy was frustrated. He struggled at his bindings. "Do I have to pick one?"

Mesogog turned to face Tommy. "Your attempt at levity is as feeble as your attempt at self-sacrifice." The villain pushed the cart with the trapped gem to Tommy's feet. The gem glowed. The teacher could feel the power seep into his very DNA, filling him in a way he hadn't been in a long time. Tommy's mouth opened in shock. Oh, Kim was going to kill him…

Mesogog missed Tommy's slight glow. He didn't know that the Black Dino Gem found its owner in the trapped man.

"If you won't do it for yourself, perhaps you will do it for your precious students…or your even more precious offspring. Elsa."

The black-clad minion stepped over to her master. "Yes, my lord."

"The five teenagers-bring them to me."

Elsa turned to do her master's bidding just as alarms blared. A screen showed all five racing through the forest on their bikes. "Master, it's them. On some kind of vehicles."

Mesogog would smile if he could. "Like obedient dogs…I speak, and they come."

Tommy was feeling slightly more confident. His team was on their way and the power of the gem coursed through his system. "I could save you some trouble. The good guys always win."

Mesogog towered over the confined former Ranger. "I suppose that all depends on who you believe the good guys to be. Zeltrax, Elsa, go. And bring help. I want no mistakes this time."

* * *

><p>The Raptor Cycles stopped at an empty stretch of beach. "Whoa, it just stopped! What's up with that?" Ethan looked at his bike in amazement.<p>

Kira dismounted and glanced around. "This must be where Hayley programmed the coordinates."

A swirling mass of green and black energy opened in front of them. Theresa held up an orange and white-clad arm. "Look! There's the invisiportal."

Kyle came up beside his sister. "I sure hope Dad's on the other side."

Theresa's orange helmet turned to look at her brother's green helmet. "Only one way to find out."

"You guys ready?" Conner called out from his bike.

"You know it," responded Kira.

They got back on their bikes but Elsa, Zeltrax, a monster, and tyrannodrones dropped in from another portal.

"Hey! No one invited you to the party," Conner yelled at Elsa.

"I'm crashing and I brought a few friends. Is that rude?"

"Extremely," Theresa responded.

Zeltrax stepped forward. "You're not getting through that portal unless you're in chains."

"We girls might be able to pull that look off but these guys? No way." Kira taunted the cyborg.

"I vote we go for it!" Conner exclaimed. Everyone agreed. The Rangers revved their bikes and shot forward.

"Attack!" Elsa ordered Zeltrax, the drones, and the monster. A pitched battle raged as the Raptor Cycles were thoroughly tested out. The front-mounted lasers gave a decided advantage to the good guys.

Conner and Kyle took on Zeltrax and Elsa. After several moves on their bikes and kicks and punches, Elsa landed on her butt in the water. Ethan, Kira, and Theresa battled the drones and monster. Zeltrax shot off his weapon but Conner just flew right over the bursts. Kyle ditched his bike in favor of his dino ability. He flew circles around Elsa, landing kicks and punches on her whenever he was within range.

The cyborg charged Conner. Conner leaped and aimed a flying kick directly into Zeltrax's midsection. Zeltrax went flying backward. The group met up again by the portal.

"Guys! Hurry!" Kyle shouted.

"The portal's still open!" Ethan added.

Elsa tried one last blast of energy. The Rangers jumped their bikes over the explosion. They charged the portal and disappeared. The group reappeared in a green and gray steel corridor.

"Hayley, Billy, Kim, we're in," Conner reported.

"Good. I'll recalibrate the bikes for your exit. You have about five minutes."

Theresa stood by her bike and concentrated. She should be able to sense her dad's presence. Next to her, Kyle did the same.

**Dad, you there?**

A pulse of mental energy shot through both their brains. **Took you guys long enough. Is your mom okay?**

Both teens detected the worry in their dad's mental voice. Theresa spoke up.

**She's hurting, even if she doesn't show it.**

Tommy's mental voice was so loud both twins grabbed their helmets and winced.

**THEN GET ME OUT OF HERE SO WE CAN GO HOME!**

** Yes, sir! **The twins chorused.

* * *

><p>Alarms continued to blare.<p>

"It seems we have visitors," Mesogog muttered to himself. There was no one else in the room beside Tommy and about a dozen drones. Tommy answered him anyway.

"I'm gonna take a guess that it's for you."

The villain circled around behind Tommy's chair. "There's that wit again. If I had a sense of humor, I might actually enjoy it." Mesogog looked at the drones behind Tommy. "I'll handle the intruders myself." Tommy was left strapped into the chair with several drones guarding him. All he could do was sit and wait for the cavalry to arrive.

* * *

><p>The Rangers turned a corner. They were following Kyle and Theresa. The twins were following the location of their dad's mental energy.<p>

"The lab should be just around here, I think," Theresa called to the others.

"At least we still have the element of-" Ethan started.

Mesogog came around the opposite corner.

"-Surprise," Kyle finished lamely.

"Welcome. We've been expecting you."

The five backed away but the door closed behind them. They were trapped.

"You remember me, I trust, Oliver brats?"

"As if we could forget your ugly face?" Kyle retorted.

"Uh, what part's his face?" Ethan wondered aloud.

"Obviously, you are in need of some discipline."

Mesogog shot out his mental pain beams. By great good luck, the monster, Zeltrax, and Elsa touched down in the beams' paths. The kids skirted around the four villains and raced toward Tommy. For some reason Kyle couldn't recall, they had demorphed. The group ran into the lab. Tommy saw them before they spotted Tommy.

"Hey, good timing." Conner, Ethan, and Kira worked to free their teacher as Kyle and Theresa took out the drones guarding Tommy. Mesogog and his goons stormed closer.

"Hit the red button on the button, Ky!" Tommy ordered his son.

The Green Ranger did as his dad commanded. The lab door slammed shut. Once free of the chair, Tommy hugged each of his children.

"I should've known you'd try to rescue me," Tommy muttered to his son.

"Is that a thank you, Dad? If so, it needs some serious work."

"I'll thank you for real when we get out of here." Tommy pressed several buttons on the panel. An invisiportal opened.

"We can use the main invisiportal network." Tommy then turned to face his daughter. "Hayley gave you the Raptor Cycles, right?"

Theresa nodded. Tommy rushed forward but Ethan pulled him back. "Wait! We need to talk!"

Theresa shared a glance at her brother. **Do they really think the middle of a rescue is the best time for a chat? It can't wait until we're back in Reefside?**

Kyle just shrugged his shoulders.

Tommy pushed his students toward the portal. "Go! I'll explain later."

"We already know everything," Conner told his teacher.

"We found the video diary," added Kira.

"We know you're a Power Ranger," Ethan concluded. Kyle rolled his eyes. **Wrong tense, bro. Didn't he watch the video? Dad hasn't been a full time Ranger since we were babies!**

Tommy looked away from his students. "Was, Ethan. Not anymore."

Zeltrax and the drones burst through the door. Mesogog wasn't far behind.

"Ranger or not, you're mine now."

Tommy glared at his nemesis. "My wife would probably have something to say about that."

Mesogog didn't reply. The teens morphed and another battle ensued. Tommy took on Mesogog and got thrown into a wall for his trouble.

"Doctor O!"

"Dad!"

"Head for the portal! I gotta get something! Hurry!"

His students and kids vanished through the portal. Tommy got up and pushed Mesogog aside. He rolled over a table and grabbed the encased gem. A few more well-placed kicks and Tommy jumped into the portal. He landed just behind the bikes. Theresa did a happy little jump.

"You made it!"

Conner pointed to what Tommy was holding. "Do we really need a souvenir?"

"This one we do." Footsteps echoed through the corridor. "Go! I'm right behind you!" The bikes revved and shot through the swirling mass. Tommy jumped through and landed in a crouch, still holding the trapped gem. By this time, the team was off their bikes and gathered around him. Tommy felt the warm rush of his wife's mental signature. He quickly stood and faced the mass of bad guys just arriving across the downtown plaza.

Zeltrax held out his staff and shot off a massive streak of energy in Tommy's direction. It was all Tommy could do to hold up the amber in front of him and use it as a shield. The amber cracked and the force of the ensuing explosion sent Tommy flying backward.

A brilliant white light blinded everyone for several seconds. When the light faded, Tommy was gone. Ethan, Conner, and Kira exclaimed their dismay. The twins knew their dad wasn't dead. They would've felt his passing through the Morphing Grid. The only conclusion they could draw was that their dad couldn't be seen.

"This can't be happening!" Kira cried out.

Elsa sneered at the Yellow Ranger. "Such negativity. Haven't you learned that in our world, anything's possible?"

"Even the destruction of the great Doctor Tommy Oliver," gloated Zeltrax.

The air in front of the Rangers rippled. "I heard my name. You missed me, didn't you, Zeltrax?" Tommy completely reappeared, holding the gem in his hand.

"Huh?" Zeltrax was confused.

The Rangers happily embraced Tommy. Conner noticed that Tommy held something glowing in his fist.

"What's this?"

The once and future Ranger opened his hand. Kyle gasped. "A Black Dino Gem!"

Ethan pondered this for a moment. "Let me guess…the power of invisibility!"

"Looks like it," Tommy answered.

"That gem belongs to my master," Elsa called out from across the plaza.

"There are two things you guys need to learn about Dino Gems. One, you can't choose them. They choose you."

"What's the other," mocked Elsa.

"They go real well with Dino Morphers."

Tommy pulled back his sleeve to reveal his morpher. He slammed the gem into place.

Elsa snorted. "Aren't you a little old for this, Tommy?"

"I may be old but I can still pull it off. Dino Thunder, power up!" He slammed the key into place and turned. The power washed over him as his khakis, black tee, and denim overshirt were replaced by the oh-so-familiar spandex and helmet.

"Dino Thunder Black Ranger!"

The twins were speechless. They'd seen their dad morph in archive footage hundreds of times, but to see it live…their dad really was the best.

A loud scream tore through their minds. Kim mentally cursed up a storm at their dad. She forgot to filter from Billy. Theresa assumed he was also getting quite a headful. The gist of Kim's mental screaming: Not Again, Thomas James Oliver!

Tommy tuned out his wife's mental tirade. He'd deal with it later.

"Just like riding a bike."

"One more makes no difference. Attack!" Zeltrax ordered his fellow bad guys.

The new Black Ranger could hardly believe how much easier defeating the drones came now. Zeltrax came after Tommy. Tommy drew his new weapon.

"Brachio Staff!"

"Let's see what you're made of."

Elsewhere, Theresa and Conner battled Elsa while Kira, Ethan, and Kyle took on the flower monster.

Conner and Elsa locked swords.

"We are not intimidated by your teacher."

"Then obviously you've never taken one of his pop quizzes!"

Conner got the upper hand and elbowed the woman away.

Zeltrax and Tommy faced off on the lawn.

"Give it up, Zeltrax."

"Never!"

The duo fought until the cyborg kicked Tommy back a few feet.

"Is that all you've got, Black Ranger?"

Tommy cocked his helmet to one side.

"Give me a break. It's been a while."

Conner and Theresa grappled with Elsa until she disappeared to lick her wounds. The pair joined the other three in dealing with the monster. They combined weapons to form the separate Z-Rex Blaster and Tusk Bow. Both blasts hit the monster at the same time.

Back on the lawn, Tommy and Zeltrax were still dueling. Several of Tommy's spin kicks sent Zeltrax flying into a steel monument.

"Go ahead, I dare you," Zeltrax challenged.

Tommy straightened from his crouch. No. I've got a message for your boss. Tell him Tommy's back. And no matter what color I am, he'll never defeat me."

Zeltrax growled and disappeared into a portal.

In the plaza, the flower monster grew, as the twins knew he would. As Tommy joined his new teammates, his morpher beeped. He expected to hear his wife, not his friend.

"Hayley?" There was confusion in his voice.

"Welcome back, my friend." Billy was there as well? "We've got a little homecoming present for you."

"Is Kim there? Is she okay?"

Billy chuckled at his old friend's worry. Kimberly was beyond irate at Tommy and still he was worried about her. "Oh, she's here all right. At the moment, she's quite infuriated. She didn't filter her rant earlier."

Tommy lowered his head. He broke a promise and he was going to pay for it, he just knew it. "Will you just let her know I'm sorry and I love her?"

The genius glanced at the petite woman behind him. Kimberly just nodded.

"She heard."

"Thanks, man."

"Anytime."

Hayley interrupted. "We have a new zord to tell you about. I found it on the north side of the forest. Meet the Brachio Zord. Retrieving the Black Dino Gem must've awakened him."

The six Rangers marveled at the enormous size of the carrier zord.

"Wait until you see what he has inside. We think you can handle it from here." Hayley and Billy signed off.

Inside the Brachio Zord were all five main zords plus a few extras. The kids jumped into their cockpits once the zords were out. The two Megazords formed right in front of Tommy's eyes. He wasn't used to being on the ground for Megazord battles. The last time his zord didn't have a cockpit was his old Dragonzord. Usually, Tommy was on the roofs of buildings for better views of the battles.

The monster wrapped tentacles around both Megazords and sparks shot from both. Tommy called for the cephalozord to join the Thundersaurus Megazord. The cephalozord threw several punches in rapid succession at the monster before attaching to its Megazord.

For his kids, Tommy called on the velacazord to aid their Megazord. Both auxiliary zords replaced their assigned parts and the two Megazords went to work on the monster. It took only minutes for the monster to fall under the deadly combination of the Cephalo Power Punch and Velacatoxin released from the velacazord mouth. Tommy watched with pride as the monster exploded in mid-air.

"Good job, guys."

* * *

><p>Tommy was stalling and he knew it. Theresa and Kyle both returned directly home after the fight. That left Tommy with Hayley and his three students in a closed cybercafé.<p>

"What a day!" Ethan exclaimed. "New bikes, new zords."

"New Ranger," Conner added, smirking at Tommy. "Well, sort of new."

The newest Ranger chuckled.

Kira titled her head. "Doctor O, are you gonna tell us how you happened to have that morpher ready?"

Tommy sat back on the comfy sofa. Idly, he wondered if Hayley would let him sleep here. It would be better than going home, that was for sure.

"Right after you guys became Rangers, I got an energy reading on the tracking system. I had a good idea it was another gem so I had Hayley and Billy build a morpher just in case."

"And the day of my gig?"

"I was coming to tell you guys the energy had moved and we needed to investigate. I was also supposed to meet Kim here after her doctor's appointment. Obviously, that didn't happen."

Hayley came over and sat on a couch arm. "Now your esteemed teacher is afraid to go home."

Tommy glared at his friend. Hayley just shrugged it off.

"Why?" Kira asked of Hayley.

"It seems Tommy here made a promise to Kim just after they moved here."

"And you broke it," Ethan surmised.

Tommy nodded and held up his bracelet with the Black Dino Gem nestled in the center. "I promised her I wouldn't become a Ranger again."

Conner eyed his teacher sympathetically. "And now you're in the doghouse."

"Yup."

"You have to face the music at some point, Tom," Hayley suggested to her friend.

The Black Ranger snorted. "Easy for you to say. Billy can't yell at you two ways." Tommy stood. "I know. But first I think I'll hit the mall. I have a serious shortage of black in my closet."

* * *

><p>Not surprisingly, Kim was waiting for him when he got home. He left his purchases in the car. They could wait. His wife couldn't wait any longer. As he stepped through the front door, the first thing he noticed was her pale complexion. Had she been sick again recently? Or was it just the stress of the last 24 hours weighing down on her? Kimberly threw herself into her husband's arm and held him close for several minutes. Then she released him and slapped his bicep, hard.<p>

Looking at her up close, it was obvious Kim had been crying.

"You promised!"

Tommy held her gaze. "I know."

"I was fine with you playing the role of mentor to these kids. I was fine with our own kids becoming Rangers. With our history, it was bound to happen eventually. Those I could handle. But this…you donning the uniform again…it wasn't supposed to happen! You promised!"

Tommy held her shoulders to keep Kim from lashing out again. "I did promise, if reluctantly, if I recall. Who knows better than I do that that promise was going to be broken eventually?"

"We're going to have another baby, Tommy. Now probably isn't the best time to be gallivanting around in spandex!"

Silence filled the living room, where the couple had moved to for some privacy. Any other man in Tommy's situation would be thrilled at the prospect of his wife having another child. And he was happy. But he was also terrified beyond belief. Kim miscarried three times after having the twins. The last time, five years ago, was so bad her doctor cautioned Kim against trying again. Carrying another baby to term could kill her.

* * *

><p>So a bit of a cliffhanger there. This series couldn't be completely happy fluff, no matter what I wanted. Kim and Tommy have baggage, serious baggage. So please review and let me know what you think!<p>

Katie D.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fifth part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me! Sorry it's taken so long to get this part out. Work is killing me.

* * *

><p>Diva in Distress<p>

* * *

><p>The twins didn't mean to eavesdrop on their parents' private conversation. Kyle got hungry and Theresa needed to use the lab's computer to help her with her Spanish homework. Their mom's latest pregnancy was a shock only to Kyle. He hadn't picked up on how poorly Kim felt while Tommy was held prisoner.<p>

Their parents called them down later to let them know about the pregnancy. When neither of their faces displayed shock, Theresa came clean about overhearing their talk from earlier. Tommy warned both of them to keep as much stress away from their mom as possible.

"Do you want us to tell the others?" Asked Theresa.

"Your mom is seven weeks. We'd like to wait until she reaches her second trimester. But your teammates can know," Tommy replied.

"Billy figured it out pretty quickly and he's already told Hayley. Outside of this family, those five are the only ones who need to know. And please tell the others not to discuss this topic openly. The later Mesogog learns of this new baby, the better."

The twins nodded at their mom's words. Mesogog would attack Kim without mercy if he learned about her vulnerable condition.

* * *

><p>The group met up the following day after school at what was quickly becoming "the hangout," Hayley's café. Kira was singing on stage but no one was really paying attention except for her friends…and one Trent Fernandez.<p>

Kira finished her song to little applause. She plopped down in her seat, disappointed.

"That was awesome," Ethan complimented. "Is that something new?"

"Yeah, I'm still working on the hook but I think there's something there."

"You should play it for my mom," Theresa suggested. "She wrote a few songs in high school herself."

Kira smiled at her friend. Theresa wore a violently bright orange skirt with a black tank top. There were times Kira worried about her fashion sense. "Where have you found so much orange clothing?" Kira wondered to the Orange Ranger.

"Thrift stores, mostly. You wouldn't believe what people give away. Hardly anyone can pull this color off!"

Kyle could only shake his head at his sister. "I'm more glad than ever I pulled green. It's a more general color."

Theresa smirked at her brother. Orange would simply hideous with his complexion. "Ky, if you had orange, you'd look like a pumpkin everyday."

"At least I don't look like I got dressed in the dark," Kyle retorted. Kira gave Kyle a once over. He was tastefully dressed in blue jeans and a green polo.

"Dad over here was even worse. When he was the Green Ranger, he wore a green mesh shirt over a green wife-beater with green jeans. Talk about going overboard," Theresa muttered.

Conner glanced at his teacher and shuddered. Green mesh? Ugh!

"I wasn't the most fashion-forward guy in school, I'll admit to that. I'll also have you all know I was evil during that time. I wasn't in my right mind."

Theresa laid an arm across her dad's shoulders. "According to Mom, Uncle Billy's overalls were better than that ensemble!"

"Hah, hah!"

Trent came over and set down a round of drinks. He smiled at Kira.

"I was listening and I think you rock."

Kira smiled back and glanced at the sketchbook tucked under his arm. "What are you working on?"

Trent pulled the book back. "No. Not until it's done."

Kira continued to smile. "Fine."

"Nobody appreciates good music anymore," Tommy complained, jumping back on the earlier topic. "All you hear on the radio is that pop garbage."

Kyle leaned back in his seat. "Tell us how you really feel, Dad."

Somewhere during the conversation, Hayley joined their group. "Yeah, like what's-her-name? Kylie Styles?"

"Kylie Styles has some good music," Conner argued. Kyle snorted in disgust. As if he needed another reason not to like Conner, Conner thought Kylie's music was actually good.

"Translation, he thinks she's fine," stated Ethan with a smirk.

Kyle had to agree there. But just because someone looked good, didn't mean they could sing.

"No, I don't." Conner paused. "Okay, yeah, I do, but…that has nothing to do with it."

Kira fiddled with her guitar. "You know, she used to be a really good songwriter. She was really sweet, too. Now, she's all about her image," she stated sadly.

"You say that like you two are friends," Theresa said.

"We used to be."

Everyone looked at Kira, disbelieving.

"What? It's true. We were in a band together. Then she got discovered by this agent and she's this huge pop diva." Theresa noted the longing in Kira's voice for her former friend.

"Oh, come on. You don't expect us to believe that, do you?" Conner still didn't buy Kira's story.

Kyle spoke up for his friend. "I believe you."

The Yellow Ranger nodded once. "Thanks, Ky. Conner, you can believe what you want. It's true."

Ethan peered at his laptop screen. "Here's your chance to prove it. According to her fan site, she's going to be in town to promote her latest CD."

Conner's mouth dropped open. "Oh, we are so there!"

"And since you two are such good buddies…" Ethan let the thought trail off.

Trent hailed someone who just came in. Kyle was the first to spot Anton Mercer by the entrance. His jaw dropped.

**Dad, you did say Mercer died, right?**

Tommy looked quizzically at his son.

**I said he disappeared, not died. What's with the random question?**

** Look behind you.**

Tommy and Theresa both turned and gaped. The Black Ranger couldn't believe his eyes. There Mercer was, alive and well.

Trent went over and greeted Mercer. Tommy moved as if in a trance.

"Anton Mercer. I can't believe it."

Anton shook Tommy's hand a little reluctantly. "Tommy Oliver. How have you been?"

Trent glanced between Anton and Tommy. "You know my dad?"

"Your dad?" Now Tommy was really confused. In all the time he and Anton knew each other, Anton never mentioned any son… "Well, I had no idea. I mean your last name is…"

"Fernandez," Anton interrupted. "It's a long, complicated story, Tommy. More importantly, how are you? Still married to your high school sweetheart?"

Somehow, Mercer managed to make that term sound dirty. Hayley came over and stole Trent to help out with table three's incident.

"I'm good and yes, Kim and I are still married." Tommy collected his thoughts. "I don't understand. I thought you were dead. I mean, the entire island was destroyed."

"I was lucky, Tommy. From the looks of it, we both were."

"Why didn't you call or send a message?"

Anton looked everywhere but at the teacher. "Yeah, well, you know what it's like, starting over. Trying to get your bearings."

"Yeah, I do." Tommy moved closer to Anton's ear. "Anton, the experiments we were working on…some crazy things have been happening. We need to figure some things out."

Tommy pulled away, his hand still on Anton's shoulder.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Mercer glanced at his watch. "Look, I'll clear some time next week if that's all right with you?"

Mercer's blasé attitude confused Tommy. "But-"

"It's good to see you again, Tommy. Truly, it is. Give Kim my best." Mercer departed and Tommy was left wondering what happened to his former employer and friend.

* * *

><p>Theresa wondered how she got dragged to the mall with Kira and Conner to meet Kylie Styles. She didn't have any feelings one way or another toward the singer and she didn't doubt Kira knew her. The three pushed to the front of the crowd in front of Kylie's autograph table.<p>

Conner nudged Kira. "Go on, ask her."

Kylie's smile was clearly fake. "Who do you want it made out to?"

"Just write: to my old friend, Kira Ford."

Kylie's astonishment, at least, wasn't fake. "Kira? Wow! I haven't seen you for ages!" And then Kylie was back to being fake. "I didn't know you were a fan of mine. I'm flattered."

And Theresa wanted to hurl. Could this blonde in blue be any more stupid?

"Actually, it's my friend who's the fan." Kira pointed toward Conner.

Conner shook Kylie's hand. "It's Conner with an –er."

"Did, uh, Kira tell you we used to sing together?"

"Yeah, I just didn't believe her at first."

Kylie flirted with Conner. "It wasn't anything professional. Just silly teen angst stuff."

Kira was hurt. "I thought we had some pretty good songs."

"Oh! Yeah, sure. At the time, they were great! But, hey, at some point, you gotta grow up."

Theresa rolled her eyes. Kira kicked demon ass and saved the world on almost a daily basis. All Styles did was sing some silly songs. Who was the more grown up between the two?

Cassidy and Devin pushed their way through and Cassidy began interviewing the pop star. Kira's former friend completely blew her off. Kira faded into the background. She knew now that her friend was gone for good.

Theresa comforted her friend with gentle pats on her arm. "You still got us."

Kira glanced up at the slightly taller girl. "Can you sing?"

Theresa smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, no. I didn't inherit my mom's voice."

"But I appreciate the offer."

"I do play the drums, though. If you ever need to just jam, my set's in Dad's garage. I did inherit my mom's musical talent."

Kira smiled. "I may just take you up on that."

A scream got the attention of the two girls and Conner. Tyrannodrones and a monster attacked Kylie in the parking garage. Theresa morphed into her Ninjetti outfit before arriving. Kira and Conner remained in civilian clothes. The three engaged the bad guys. Kylie continued to scream even as the monster sucked the youth out of her.

* * *

><p>In the lab, the teens watched with Tommy and Kim as the monster attacked people in the downtown plaza, robbing them of their youth.<p>

"A donkey that can extract the youth out of people? That is wrong in so many ways," exclaimed Ethan.

"Mesogog's probably found a way to harness youth into energy," stated Tommy. "We have to figure out a way to fight it." Tommy noticed someone was missing. "Where's Kira?"

"She's taken Kylie to the Cyberspace," Conner replied. "I think she's having a meltdown over seeing her all old and shriveled up. I gotta admit, it was kinda brutal."

Tommy simply looked at Conner. "We'll talk about respect for your elders later. Right now, there's something we need to take care of."

Kim moved to the bank of computers as Tommy and the teens morphed and departed for downtown.

* * *

><p>The Rangers arrived downtown and attacked the donkey monster. Going hand-to-hand wasn't working, even with five of them against the one monster.<p>

"We need Kira," Ethan told Conner.

"I called her. She's not responding." Conner brought his morpher up. "Kim, is Kira's morpher signature still at the café?"

In the lab, Kim typed. A blinking yellow dot came up on a map. "I'm afraid so, guys. Just do the best you can until Kira can join you."

"Got it!"

Cassidy Cornell came up during the fight and attempted to interview the monster. He quickly sucked the youth from her and Devin.

Zeltrax interrupted as Tommy attempted to help Conner. "We still have a score to settle, Black Ranger. Or have you forgotten?"

"I told you, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Zeltrax struck at Tommy with his energy sword. Tommy jumped out of the way just in time. That left the four teens to fight the monster. Zeltrax and Tommy continued to battle.

"You will pay," the cyborg declared.

Tommy blocked another kick. "For what?"

The battle continued. Tommy landed a blow that sent the cyborg's shield flying. Tommy spun over Zeltrax's head and landed a flying kick on the metal chest plate. Zeltrax went flying backward.

"Give it up, Zeltrax."

Meanwhile, the teens chased the monster to a set of tennis courts.

"We've got you cornered!" Conner clenched his fists.

The monster chuckled. "That's what you think!"

It unleashed beams from its eyes and all four Rangers landed on their backs. They were recovering and the monster set to attack when it was forced on its back by a well-timed pterra-scream. Conner, Ethan, Theresa, and Kyle joined Kira.

"Ow! My ears!" Ethan held onto the sides of his helmet for emphasis.

"Sorry, guys, I should've given you the heads up."

"Ya think?" Kyle muttered.

Kira morphed and joined her teammates. All five attacked at once with their Thunder Max Sabers. The monster sent them flying in all directions. Kira landed near a racket and an overturned basket of tennis balls.

"Think you're up for a singles match?"

"You're no match for me," replied the monster from the other side of the net.

We'll see about that!"

Kira jumped and served two balls that lodged themselves in Donkeyvac's nostrils. The blow blasted Donkeyvac into the back fence.

Conner, Ethan, and Kira joined their weapons. The twins did the same.

"Z-Rex Blaster!"

"Tusk Bow!"

In unison, all yelled, "Fire!" The dual bolt and laser blast tore Donkeyvac into pieces. The Rangers' glee was short-lived as the monster grew.

"Whoa!" Kira brought her morpher up to face level. "Dr. Oliver, this might be a good time for some heavy metal!"

Some distance away, Tommy's helmeted head nodded. "Brachio Zord, now!"

The teens leaped into their zords' cockpits and the two Megazords faced off against Donkeyvac. The monster unleashed a wave of pomegranates against the two Megazords. Sparks flew. The monster sucked the Thundersaurus Megazord right up against it. Conner's Tyrannozord bit the monster's nose. The twins' Megazord butted the monster with the Mastadonzord's tusks. Conner engaged his dino drill just after Theresa unleashed her tiger's claws. Donkeyvac exploded for good, releasing all the youth it stole.

Later, at the café, Trent showed Kira his completed drawing. Hayley insisted on framing it when she saw it. Trent couldn't refuse his boss. Trent and Kira talked for a bit longer before Kira and Theresa took the stage. Theresa settled herself behind her drum set. Kira's songs hadn't been difficult to learn. Kira began playing her guitar. She looked out and smiled. She had more attention than a few days ago. Kim was standing in front of Tommy, his arms around her.

Kira started her second verse and was momentarily speechless as Kylie joined her in singing. Kylie hugged her friend when the song was over. For now, things were okay.

* * *

><p>The End. I'm skipping Game On because I don't really like it. The events still happened and I may or may not reference the episode. Haven't decided yet. Tommy and Kim have taken over this story and sent it in a completely opposite direction than I planned. Oh well, as long a people like it, who am I to complain?<p>

Katie D.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this sixth part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p>Golden Boy<p>

* * *

><p>Five teens in brightly colored spandex raced toward the harbor. Across the water, a giant metallic beast ransacked the city proper.<p>

"Come on, guys! He's destroying the city!" Conner yelled to his teammates. The prickly monster shot bolts of electricity into several buildings.

"Okay, it's zord time!"

Tommy's Brachiozord arrived all the smaller zords spewed out to form the two Megazords. The five jumped into their cockpits.

"What are you looking at?" This specific monster's face was red and white with glowing blue eyes and mouth with, what appeared to be, dice on its forehead.

"How about a little vacation?" The monster cackled. It sent a blue beam at the Thundersaurus Megazord. Kyle and Theresa's Megazord punched the creature from behind. The Thundersaurus Megazord disappeared along with the monster. That left one giant turning in circles, unsure where its partner vanished to.

Both reappeared several minutes later, the monster complaining. A team-up of the dino drill and Kyle's mastodon trunk whip finished the truly hideous creature.

They sent the zords back to their hiding places and ended up at a packed cybercafé. Trent was running around like a mad man. Ethan waited two hours for Trent to spare a couple minutes to discuss their government project. Kyle worked on his own project at the computer beside Ethan.

At a table in the middle of the room, Cassidy snapped her fingers several times, trying to get Trent's attention. Ethan's devious smile as he sent Trent to deal with the blonde worried Kyle. Several screams from Cassidy's computer confirmed Kyle's worry. He tapped his friend on the shoulder.

"While watching blondes freak out is fun and all, I think you can make better use of your talents."

Hayley also interrupted Ethan's fun. "Having fun?"

The Blue Ranger smirked. "Uh, yeah, I am." Ethan addressed Kyle. "What better use for my talents than scaring Cassidy?"

Kyle pretended to think. "Oh, I don't know, maybe helping me study?"

Ethan rolled his eyes but complied anyway, but not before sending one more scream to Cassidy's keyboard.

Across the café, on the couch, Theresa shook her head. Ky didn't **need** any help studying. She looked to the door and her jaw dropped to see Mercer enter. He was the last person she expected to patronize the cybercafé.

**Psst, Mercer the elder by the door.**

Kyle turned his head at his sister's mental heads up.

Trent approached his father. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd give you a ride home. You ready?"

Trent looked around at the still busy café. "I don't think I can leave right now. I'm in the middle of work."

"Look, son, I don't mean this to sound, um, elitist, but don't you think a managerial position would suit you better?"

Trent shook his head in disbelief at his dad.

"Come on, all this running around, slinging milkshakes, it doesn't really scream…Mercer."

"Dad, I like working here. And besides, I'm in high school. This is what kids do."

"Right. Well, it's not what I did. Anyway, let me think about it. Maybe we can, uh, come up with a compromise we can both live with."

"Dad, I'm fine."

Mercer turned to leave. "See you at home."

"Okay, see you."

Theresa turned her attention back to the other teenagers and couldn't help but laugh when Devin ended up wearing his smoothie.

**Reminds me of the stories Mom and Dad told us of Bulk and Skull! **Kyle couldn't contain his mirth through their bond. He closed up his program and departed the café for the Crane and Falcon Gymnastics Center. That left Theresa with Hayley and Trent to reign in the bored Ethan.

An hour later, Tommy showed up to collect Theresa and offered Trent a lift home.

"Thanks for the ride, Dr. O."

Theresa snickered. "I still can't get used to that title."

Tommy ignored his daughter.

"Dad would've freaked if I'd gotten home late again."

Tommy buckled his seatbelt. "No problem. Hey, speaking of your dad, there's something I've been wondering. All those years working with your father and, uh, he never mentioned he had a son."

Theresa rolled her eyes. "Only because normal parents tend to brag about their kids. Dad's plenty guilty of it. 'My son's training for the Olympics.' 'My daughter's an awesome drummer.'"

Tommy gently shoved his daughter backward. "Just wait until you have kids. You'll be doing the same thing."

Theresa shrugged her shoulders. She didn't doubt it.

Trent got the conversation back on track. "He didn't. Have a son. Him and my real parents worked together on a dig a few years ago. There was a cave-in. My parents never got out."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to lose your parents young. My own biological parents died in a fire when I was only a few months old."

"So you were adopted?"

"Yeah. My parents were great. They loved me like I truly was their own. Until I told them I got my girlfriend pregnant at seventeen. Then my mom turned frigid and we've only talked a few times since."

"Anton's been great, though. He's taken me in, given me everything. A home, a life. Not a lot of people would've done that."

Trent's words took Tommy back to his own parents, specifically his mother. He still had a great relationship with his dad. They talked not long after the twins were born. Janice Oliver couldn't forgive her son for ruining her dreams for him. Tommy couldn't forgive Janice for giving him the cold shoulder when he really needed her.

Theresa caught her dad's reflection in the rearview mirror and knew whom he was thinking about. **She's not worth it.**

Tommy's reflection squinted his eyes.

**Your mother. If she can't accept your choices, she's not much of a mother.**

Tommy's reflection shook his head. **When did you get to be so wise?**

Theresa just smirked and proceeded to grill Trent about what it was like to be the son of the richest man in the city.

A few miles from Trent's house, Theresa got a feeling of somebody following them. Tommy got the same feeling.

"Trent, look behind you. Do you see a…" Tommy trailed off as Trent turned his head.

"A big gold dude running like 50 miles an hour right behind us?"

Theresa screamed. "You might want to put that racecar experience to good use, Dad!"

Instead, Tommy slammed on the brakes. The gold guy slammed into the back of the Jeep. All three clambered out to investigate.

"What is that thing?" Trent edged closer to the metallic creature. Theresa held back. Tommy looked over the damage to his car.

"Oh man, my insurance company's never going to believe this."

Theresa glared at her dad's back. "The creature's recovering and you're worried about car insurance?"

Gold Guy stood up. "Which one of you is Doctor Oliver?"

Tommy stepped forward. "That'd be me."

"Then prepare for your demise." It cracked its metallic knuckles.

Theresa pushed Trent behind her and stood next to her father. Tommy started with a kick to the stomach that didn't faze Gold Guy. It hurt Tommy more. Theresa flipped over and attacked from behind. The mechanical being had no trouble fending off the dual attack.

A single push sent Tommy flying into his daughter and both landed on their butts beside the car. Both Olivers leaned against the front bumper.

"Better call for backup."

Theresa simply nodded and pressed her gem. Tommy's eyes closed as he concentrated on telepathically contacting Kyle.

The creature raised an arm. "You must be destroyed."

"No!" Trent leaped over the Jeep and tackled Gold Guy. It rolled far enough away to allow Tommy and Theresa to stand. Trent stood in front of the Olivers. Tommy tried to hold the young man back.

"No, Trent, stay back."

"I can help." His untrained kicks and punches were no match as he was thrown, face first, into the pavement. Trent's second attempt fared no better.

Theresa grimaced as she felt her muscles protest the movement of walking. Her dad was worse. He sat by the front tire holding his shoulder.

A yellow blast sent the creature backwards. All three turned to see four Rangers on their Raptor Cycles.

**A little late, brother mine!**

**Better late than never!**

Kyle was off his bike and checking his sister and father for any obvious injuries. Kira headed for Trent.

"Trent, are you all right?"

The Hispanic boy glanced up into the visor of the Yellow Ranger. "What? Hey, how do you know my name?"

"Uh…" Kira berated herself for her slipup.

Kyle finished checking on his family and joined Conner and Ethan in the fight. Theresa wanted nothing more than to send large fireballs at Gold Guy. But then Trent would be asking questions and that wouldn't be good. Theresa was never good at playing civilian.

All three boys kicked at the same time. Gold Guy flew back. An invisiportal deposited Zeltrax between them and the creature.

Conner straightened and pointed at Zeltrax. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Huh?" The cyborg turned his head and addressed the creature behind him. "You. Return with me at once."

"But, Father, my mission is not yet complete!"

Theresa's eyes bugged. Behind his helmet, Kyle's eyes did the same. Zeltrax had a son? Now they'd seen everything!

**Did he just say…**Tommy wondered telepathically.

The twins glanced at one another and shuddered.

"Now! Do as your told!" Zeltrax ordered.

"Yes, Father." The two disappeared into a portal.

"Did he just call him Father?" Conner searched the helmets of Ethan and Kyle.

The Blue Ranger shrugged once. "I think so."

"Zeltrax having a kid? That goes into the TMI folder, big time," Kyle agreed.

* * *

><p>The next day, all the Olivers and the other Rangers were hanging out at the café. Kimberly felt well enough to venture out, still in the first trimester of her pregnancy.<p>

Hayley slammed a piece of paper down on the counter. "I don't believe it!"

"Junk mail?" Tommy wondered.

"I wish. Check this out."

Tommy read the letter, Kim reading over his shoulder.

"What's it say?" Ethan questioned from his seat beside his teacher.

"It's from the city. It seems that, as of tomorrow, I have a new landlord," Hayley spat out.

"Not just any landlord. Anton Mercer." Tommy concluded for his friend.

Theresa choked on her milkshake. "Mercer's gonna own the café? How?"

"Mercer's gonna rebuild the whole place. And he's going to replace me." Hayley was spitting mad now. The café was her baby. She'd worked so hard on this place.

Kyle read the letter. "With who?"

Hayley raised her sight to Trent standing in the middle of the room. "So you've heard?"

"What's the deal, man? You have one rough day at the office and your rich daddy buys it for you?" Ethan couldn't keep the anger out of his voice.

Trent took a place at the counter between Tommy and Theresa. "It's not like that. I had nothing to do with this."

Kim placed an arm around her husband's shoulder. "Can your friend in City Hall do anything to prevent this?"

Tommy thought for a second. "She probably could. If I can persuade her right. Maybe she can check out the deal and see if Mercer missed something."

Trent shook his head. "I've known my dad long enough to know he doesn't make mistakes."

Tommy refuted Trent's statement. "I've known your dad long enough to know he does. Come on, Ethan, Kyle."

"Theresa and I will stay here with Hayley," suggested Kim.

"T can stay. You've got a gym to look after," the Black Ranger gently reminded his wife. Kim nodded and said her goodbyes. Trent stopped Tommy.

"Wait. I'm going with you. This is because of me. I'll do whatever it takes to fix this."

Tommy's eyes met Hayley's and she gave a very small nod. Ethan stood up. "City Hall, here we come."

* * *

><p>Tommy and the three boys clambered out of the Jeep.<p>

"Man, I hope there's something we can do," muttered Trent.

"Don't worry, bro. My dad's got it covered."

Tommy's friend greeted them at the base of the steps. "Doctor Oliver, my office said you were coming down."

"Councilwoman Sanchez, thanks for taking the time to talk to us."

That was as far as they got before Zeltrax and his son dropped down at the top of the steps. All four males guarded the councilwoman.

Gold Guy delivered bolts of energy, sending the group sprawling.

"I will make you proud, Father!"

The blasts separated the group. Kyle, Ethan, and Tommy went left while Trent and Sanchez went right. Zeltrax's offspring unleashed more bolts on the unmorphed Rangers. This allowed Trent to get Councilwoman Sanchez to safety.

Unfortunately, Cassidy and Devin ran straight into Gold Boy's onslaught. The pair was sent flying into the bushes.

**Think they're okay?** Kyle sent his dad.

**We can only hope so.**

The three emerged from their hiding spot and took on the gold creature.

"Your son got a lot stronger." Tommy quipped at Zeltrax.

Zeltrax pointed his sword. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

Conner, Kira, and Theresa appeared on the scene just in time. "We heard you guys were here to fight City Hall." Conner stated.

Kira turned her head toward the Red Ranger. "They must've meant fight in front of it."

"You guys ready?" As if Tommy needed to ask.

Six voices yelled simultaneously, "Dino Thunder, power up!"

Seconds later, six Power Rangers stood ready. Nearly two-dozen drones dropped down from a portal.

"Tyrannodrones, attack! Destroy them!"

Kyle and Conner took care of their drones quickly. Zeltrax's creature attacked both at once. Conner flipped over an attack while Kyle rolled under another.

Kira and Theresa fought side-by-side. Their group of drones stood no chance. That left Ethan and Tommy to take on the rest of the drones. More like it left Ethan with the drones. Tommy engaged Zeltrax.

"Hey, Zeltrax. You're sending your son to do what you couldn't?" Tommy taunted as he went on the offensive.

"I will take you myself."

"You couldn't take my son. How do you expect to beat me?"

Zeltrax was beaten back. "Goldenrod, attack the city!"

"Yes, Father!"

Goldenrod disappeared in a ball of light and reappeared 30 stories bigger. "I'm larger than life!"

Kira stepped back out of the way of Goldenrod's foot. "Whoa!"

"I'm gonna rock this city!"

Tommy held up his morpher. "That's our cue. Brachio, do your thing."

Brachiozord soon arrived and all five zords spilled out. The teens all jumped into their cockpits.

"Guys, I've figured out how to combine all five zords into one Megazord. Call for the Thundersaurus Max Megazord."

The kids did and Kyle and Theresa joined their friends in the cockpit. Theresa looked around. "Pretty roomy. Much better than Dad's Zeo Megazord."

Conner cut her off. "Let's concentrate on Goldenrod."

On the ground, Tommy and Zeltrax continued to fight.

"Give it up, Zeltrax!"

"Never!"

Tommy flipped over and landed a blow. "That's not my only trick."

The Max Megazord fell to the street after several strikes from Goldenrod. Sparks flew in the cockpit.

Tommy's staff clashed with Zeltrax's sword. "Vengeance shall be mine!"

The Black Ranger glared through his helmet. "Vengeance? Are you sure you've got the right guy?"

Zeltrax slashed his sword toward Tommy. "I know that you are my sworn enemy for life!

Tommy dodged the attack. "I seriously don't know what you're talkin' about!"

"Then I will explain it to you. After I make you watch my son destroys your own children and students."

"Sorry, not gonna happen!" Tommy flipped backward. He pushed off the wall and struck the cyborg down. "Nobody messes with my students or my kids." Zeltrax exploded behind the posing Black Ranger. He wasn't dead, though.

Tommy narrowly avoided being stepped on by Goldenrod. He adjusted the settings on his staff. "Brachiostaff, wind strike!" The Black Ranger plunged his staff into the ground. Torrents of wind and electricity struck Goldenrod.

Again, Tommy moved to another setting on his weapon. "Earthquake strike, now!"

A crack in the earth opened and Goldenrod fell, barely hanging on. Once more, Tommy went to another setting.

"Fire strike, ready!" Tommy slammed his weapon into his crevice and flames shot up. "Full power!" He shook with exertion. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up this type of assault. Thankfully, Goldenrod went flying and exploded into little tiny bits.

Tommy could only pant and try to catch his breath. It had been decades since he wielded so much power. He knelt on once knee, only being held up by his staff. Theresa and Kyle dropped down from the Megazord to check on their dad.

"Dad! Are you okay?" Kyle was the first to reach the exhausted teacher.

"I'm getting too old for this," the elder Oliver muttered.

* * *

><p>Twenty-four hours later, Anton Mercer strolled through the doors of the café. "Okay. Let's, uh, get these walls torn out. We can save the computers," Anton ordered his minions.<p>

Hayley and Kim stepped in front of Mercer.

"Hang on." The former Pink Ranger crossed her arms.

"You don't own anything yet." Hayley placed her hands on her hips.

"Hayley. Kimberly, it's been a long time. As much as I hate to say this, you really can't fight City Hall."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Doctor Mercer," spoke up Sanchez from her place at the bar. The teens were strategically planted throughout the café.

Mercer cleared his throat.

"My name is Eleanor Sanchez. Councilwoman for the 33rd District. It is with great pleasure that I inform you that the city council has voted to put your purchase of this land on hold."

Tommy stood behind the trio of women. Anton glared at his former friend.

"You're a part of this?"

Eleanor stood her ground. "Actually, we have your son to thank. He made me realize that a place like this," both Oliver twins and the three others flanked the adults, "a safe haven for learning and the interaction of the youth of our community is something that shouldn't be disturbed or changed in any way."

"I was only trying to do what's best for my son." Mercer looked around. "I'll just be going then." The tycoon and his lackeys turned and walked out. Everyone cheered. Tommy pulled his wife into a quick hug. Hayley pulled her best friend into another long hug.

"Thank you."

"I wasn't about to allow my best friend to lose everything she's worked so hard for."

* * *

><p>The End! The next chapter will start to veer from the TV series a bit more.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this seventh part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

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><p>Beneath the Surface<p>

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><p>A new girl at the Crane and Falcon Gymnastics Center caught everyone's attention. Kyle Oliver couldn't take his eyes off her. She was Olympic caliber and Gregory Stefan's new trainee. Even Kim was impressed by the girl's skill level. But why was she training at a small gym in California when she could be at any of the best gyms in America?<p>

Samantha Gardner was well aware of the stares but she paid them no mind. She was used to it. Only the penetrating gaze of a chestnut-haired boy bothered her. The boy was a gymnast, well built and tall, easily surpassing six feet and adding a few inches. The hair was a little longer than what most male gymnasts preferred but on the boy, it looked good.

Samantha finished her uneven bars routine and took a sip from her water bottle. The boy began a routine on the parallel bars near her. She could hear Gregory correcting the boy.

"Legs together, toes flexed. Good. Hold in pike. Flip. Rotate, rotate. Nice, Kyle. Strong finish."

Kyle flipped sideways and his feet planted on the mat. Samantha was impressed. The boy was good, she had to give him that. He'd be Olympic caliber in a few years, no doubt about it. Samantha noticed that the owner of the gym, Kimberly Hart-Oliver, left her office and surveyed the floor. She made her way over to the older woman.

"I want to thank you for allowing me to train here," Samantha started.

Kimberly smiled. "No, thank you. The only way my gym is going to get noticed is if more elite gymnasts come here. How are you and your family settling into Reefside?"

"It's quite a change from Philadelphia, that's for sure."

"You certainly won't see snow here," Kimberly chuckled.

"But on the other hand, Reefside has real, live Power Rangers."

Kimberly smiled vaguely. She tilted her head to where Kyle was practicing on the high bar. "I saw you watching Kyle earlier. He's good, isn't he?"

Sam's face lit up and Kim mentally smirked. The new girl was interested in her son! **Samantha has a crush on you!**

Across the gym, Kyle rolled his eyes at his mom's mental teasing. **I'm not in the market for a girlfriend, Mom!**

**No, you want to focus on your training.** Kim sent a dose of sarcasm along with the thought.

**Most moms would push their kids to train harder, to the exclusion of everyone else**, Kyle reminded Kim.

It was Kimberly's turn to roll her eyes. **Those moms never did anything with their own lives so they have to live vicariously through their children's lives.**

Samantha noticed Kim's preoccupation and returned to work, this time on vault. It just so happened, Kyle was also working that apparatus. She came up to him.

"I'm Samantha Gardner." She held out her hand. Kyle shook it.

"Kyle Oliver."

Sam's eyes widened. "Oliver-as in…" her voice trailed off.

Kyle smiled broadly. "Yeah, my parents own this place. You talked to my mom a little bit ago."

"You watched me?" Samantha asked coyly. Gregory ordered Samantha to perform her vault before Kyle could reply. The blonde did as commanded by her coach. Everything was perfect until she tried to land. Her feet went out from under her and Samantha landed on her butt.

"You didn't rotate enough and spot your landing." Gregory told his student.

"I've never actually landed a Yurchenko before. Not with this high of difficulty."

"You need to land it if you hope to make the national team this year. Do it again. And this time, spot your landing sooner."

"Yes, sir."

"Kyle, I want to see your high bar routine again."

Kyle nodded and jogged across the gym to the high bar. He chalked up and began his routine. High bar was his best apparatus. He flew through the air and caught hold of the bar. Three more rotations and another Geinger. Kyle continued his routine through his dismount, which he stuck easily.

Gregory liked it and called a five-minute break for Kyle and Samantha while he updated Kim on their progress. Samantha took a sip of water from her bottle and toweled off. She sat next to Kyle on the edge of the floor mat.

"How'd you come to train with Gregory?"

Kyle shrugged and sipped from his own bottle. "He and my mom go back a ways. They trained together for a few months."

"That doesn't explain you."

The Green Ranger wiped his face with his towel. "Gregory was in Angel Grove scouting a few years back. Saw me, thought I had potential. What about you?"

"I trained back in Philadelphia but had to move out here when my dad got transferred to the NASADA base out here. My coach in Philly recommended Gregory. It's a longer drive for my dad to the base than Angel Grove but Gregory is worth it."

Their conversation was interrupted by Gregory ordering Kyle to work on his floor routine and for Sam to practice on the beam.

Theresa sat in the gallery and watched her brother finish up his practice for the day. Something was off about his floor routine. Then, a blonde blur flipped across the beam and Theresa had her answer. Kyle was paying too much attention to the new girl.

A sigh alerted the teen to the presence of her mother. "Ky may have finally found someone with his same drive to succeed."

Theresa turned around. "The blonde, Samantha?"

Kim nodded. "She's new but supremely talented. She has a very good shot at making the national team in a few months."

Theresa finally noticed what her mother was wearing. Hideous maternity clothes. "Baby getting bigger?"

Theresa knew how much her mother despised maternity clothing but Kim knew that six months of gross, oversized shirts was well worth the price of a healthy baby. Kim groaned. "Maternity wear hasn't gotten any better than it was sixteen years ago."

Theresa smiled. "But my little sister is healthy?"

"It could be a boy, you know," Kim ragged her daughter. "But, yes, Dana said everything is right on schedule. Baby is healthy and growing properly. Barring any undue stress, this baby will make its appearance right around the time you two graduate."

Theresa hugged her mom. "That's great!"

Kim kept her daughter in the hug for a little bit longer. "Making it to the second trimester will allow me to breathe a lot better."

"Have you told Grandmom and Pierre about the new baby yet?"

"They're coming for a visit next month. We'll tell them then."

Theresa glanced down at her bracelet where her orange gem rested. "They're not staying at the house, are they?" While Kim had long ago informed her mom and stepdad about her and Tommy's Ranger status, the Dumases were currently unaware about Tommy, Kyle, and Theresa donning the spandex in Reefside.

Kimberly chuckled. "No, they have no plans to stay at the house. Knowing my mom, she'd find the trap door in the kitchen within five minutes. Your dad and I plan to spend as much time away from the house as possible. Between you two and our jobs, it shouldn't be too difficult."

Theresa raised an eyebrow. "I know Grandmom wants to see our new house."

Kimberly was offended. "Of course she will. But then we'll rush her and Pierre out to dinner."

"Just so long as you have a plan," Theresa chuckled at her mother.

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><p>After practice, Kyle waited outside the girls' locker room. Samantha emerged freshly showered.<p>

"Can I walk you home?"

Sam slung her gym bag over her shoulder and smiled. "Sure."

They exited the gym together and walked a little bit before Samantha asked the first question. "What does your dad do? I know your mom owns the gym."

Kyle zipped up his jacket against the evening chill. "Dad teaches science at the high school. He has a PhD in paleontology."

Samantha was impressed. "The study of dinosaurs?"

Kyle nodded. "Yup."

"Any siblings?"

Kyle smiled. "I actually have a twin sister, Theresa. She's five minutes younger than me. We may look alike but we're very different."

"I take it she's not a gymnast?"

Kyle laughed heartily. "Not at all. She's a musician. She's a drummer in a local band with our friend Kira. What about you? Any siblings?"

Samantha shook her head. "Only child. Just me and my parents. I've always wondered what its like to be a twin. Can you really sense when each other is hurt and stuff like that?"

Kyle considered her question. There was only so much he could tell her without venturing too far into Ranger territory…. "Something like that. Its like I've never been truly alone. She's always in my heart. I suppose I'd know if she was truly in danger." **She'd yell loud enough in my head that I wouldn't have to worry about my other senses!**

Kyle quickly changed the subject. "What exactly does your dad do at NASADA?"

"Mission control. He makes sure shuttles to KO-35 and Mirinoi run smoothly and on time. Conversely, he's the first blamed if something goes wrong."

"Must be tough on him."

Samantha held Kyle's gaze. "Dad's a tough guy." The blonde considered something. "Your mom seems rather young to have two teenage children. If you don't mind me asking, how old was she when she had you?"

"I don't mind. I'm used to it. My mom was eighteen, both my parents were. Add sixteen years and you get their ages."

Kyle motioned for he and Sam to sit on a nearby bench. Sam continued her questioning. "And your parents are married?"

The brown-haired teen nodded. "Have been for the past ten years."

"Ten years…they didn't get married just because your mom got pregnant?"

Kyle decided to tell her his parents' story…the abridged version, minus the Power Rangers, of course. "Mom and Dad met in high school and started dating a few months later. Just before their senior year, Mom received an offer to train with Gunther Schmidt for the Pan Global Games. She couldn't pass it up; it was too good an opportunity. Mom and Dad agreed on a long-distance relationship and he'd join her after he graduated."

Samantha could see where the tale was leading. "Obviously things didn't go as planned. You're here."

Kyle chuckled softly. "No, they didn't. My parents spent one night together before Mom left for Miami. Mom's first six-week physical revealed her condition. Fear and peer pressure caused Mom to send my dad a Dear John letter. She resigned herself to raising us alone."

Samantha was really getting into her new friend's story. "What happened after that?"

Kyle paused. Here was another event that had to be heavily edited to everyone not in the Power Ranger family. "Dad needed Mom's help. Mom came home six months pregnant with Theresa and I. She and Dad talked and worked things out." He shrugged. "They've been together ever since."

Samantha was impressed. "You said your dad has a PhD. How'd he do that and raise two kids?"

Kyle stood up and the pair resumed walking. "How anybody else does it, I guess. My parents are blessed with great friends who would move heaven and earth to help them. Moving across the country to attend college and help raise us was a no-brainer for them." Kyle turned to Samantha and a wide grin spread across his face. "It didn't hurt that Mom's grandmother paid for her and Dad's college tuitions! We never had many toys or stuff growing up but Theresa and I never lacked for love and support."

The pair turned a corner into Samantha's neighborhood. "You had it better than a lot of others with teenage parents."

Kyle hung his head and shuffled his feet. "Yeah. Dad's mom all but ordered him to give us up for adoption. From what Dad says, she kept going on about how there were couples out there ready for children, couples who physically couldn't have their own kids. She felt that Dad, at the time eighteen and almost out of high school, wasn't ready to take care of a baby. He didn't have a job or very much money. At that time, all Dad had was a trust from his grandfather."

Samantha was so involved in the saga; she almost didn't realize they reached her house. "This is me," she said, pointing to a two-story colonial with white siding and black shutters.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Kyle suggested. Sam grinned and disappeared up the front walk. Kyle whistled all the way back to the gym. He was feeling good.

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><p>Kyle was surprised when Samantha showed up in his second period computer science class. She never said anything about school. He just assumed she was home-schooled as so many elite gymnasts were. He waved her over to the computer station next to his.<p>

"Welcome to Reefside High School."

Sam smiled shyly and took her seat. "Thanks. I'm a little nervous. It's been a while since I've been in an actual classroom."

Kyle nodded. He figured as much. "Home-schooled."

"Since middle school, when I realized I wanted to go to the Olympics rather than the Prom."

"And why not home-school here? I know my mom set up a great program for any elite gymnasts that wanted to train at her gym."

"My parents insisted I get a taste of what I was giving up."

"What's your schedule like? Maybe I can help you out a bit? Granted, I've only been here for seven weeks myself so I won't be too helpful."

The blonde extracted a sheet of paper from her binder. "First period, I have history. You know second. Third is pre-calculus. Fourth is English Lit then lunch, chemistry, phys ed, and lastly, Latin."

Kyle typed into his computer so it would appear as if he was working. With his parents and friends, he certainly didn't need a computer science class. The equipment in his basement was more advanced than what Reefside High carried. "Not bad. Who do you have for chemistry?"

Samantha consulted her sheet. "Dr. Oliver." She looked up when she made the connection. "Your dad. I have your dad as my teacher."

Mrs. Perkins, his teacher, came around to make sure no students were slacking. "Mr. Oliver, less talking, more doing."

Kyle returned to his computer and typed faster. "Yes, ma'am!"

Samantha glared at the monitor as if it was about to bite her. Kyle noticed. "Don't like technology?"

"More like it doesn't like me," she grumbled. "This thing keeps crashing on me!"

The Green Ranger glanced at her monitor and proceeded to type into her keyboard. Whatever he did, fixed her problem. "You're really good with that."

Kyle blushed. "I've worked with machines more advanced than school computers. Fixing this was no problem." He glanced down at what he was supposed to be working on. "And don't sweat my dad. He's cool. And you'll have me in Chem, as well as Latin."

"Really? We train together and now we share three classes. You are going to be sick of me by Thanksgiving," Sam leered at Kyle.

He winked at her. "Never."

Mrs. Perkins resumed her path around the classroom while Kyle got Sam sped up on what the class covered in the first seven weeks. She continued to be impressed with his knowledge of computers. "You seem to know your way around technology pretty well."

"Both my parents graduated from MIT. And several of their friends could teach there. Being a tech genius is pretty par for the course."

The bell rang, dismissing them from class. Kyle offered to show Sam to her next class. They continued their conversation. "MIT is very impressive. And I thought my dad graduating from West Point and my mom from Penn were things to brag about."

"The nation's premier military academy and an Ivy League school certainly give you bragging rights." Kyle didn't even notice Theresa try to get his attention as he passed her in the hall. He was that absorbed in Samantha Gardner. Outside her next classroom, Kyle paused her.

"A bunch of us are getting together at Hayley's Cyberspace after school. You wanna, um, perhaps, meet us there?"

Sam cocked her head, thinking about her schedule. "I don't have to be at the gym until five, so, sure. I'd love to."

"Cool, I'll see you in chemistry, then?"

"See ya."

Kyle turned and walked away, his head in the clouds.

**Earth to Kyle! Come in Kyle!**

He grumbled at his sister's interruption. **Yeah, what?**

Theresa was taken aback. Her brother was never this grouchy after second period. **I tried to say hi a few moments ago. You just walked right by.**

**Sorry, I was talking to Sam. I didn't see you.**

** Keep your eyes open, Big bro! See you later!** Theresa checked out and returned her attention to her teacher, allowing Kyle to pay attention to his own teacher. Kyle's dopey grin returned to his face.

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><p>Kyle kept the dopey grin on his face for the rest of the day. He didn't get to sit near Sam in either chemistry or Latin and Tommy was dropping him and Theresa off at the café after school. His sister teased him the entire trip. And not just verbally, either. Kyle quickly became fed up.<p>

"If you keep it up, I'll get rides from Conner from now on. Until I turn seventeen and get my own license."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "You also need something called a car, Ky."

Theresa poked her brother in the side. "I'm just getting back at you for all the grief you gave me about Cam."

Kyle swatted at his sister's poking fingers. "I'm not dating Samantha. She's just a girl."

Tommy caught his son's eyes in the rearview mirror. "A girl you couldn't stop staring at from the moment she entered my classroom. What did we cover in class today?"

Kyle tried to recall but found that Samantha took up all memory of the day. He could remember exactly what she wore and how she smelled but nothing beyond that. Tommy took his son's silence to mean the boy couldn't remember.

"I rest my case." Tommy paused. "In case you haven't noticed, Rangers tend to fall in love fast and hard. And that first love is usually the only one."

Kyle snorted. Theresa began listing off couples to prove her dad's point. "Mom and Dad. Andros and Ashley. Zhane and Karone. Leo and Kendrix. Carter and Dana. Joel and Angela. Wes and Jen."

Kyle refuted Theresa's last couple. "Wes was Jen's second love. She was engaged to Alex first."

Theresa glared at her brother but continued anyway. "Cole and Alyssa. Eric and Taylor. Blake and Tori…if they ever get their heads out of the ground, of course."

Tommy arrived at the café, cutting off the argument before it got out of hand. Both kids got out and Kyle ran over to where Samantha was waiting. Theresa trailed behind at a more leisurely pace. She introduced herself to the blonde.

"I'm Theresa, Kyle's adorable younger sister."

"His twin, right? Kyle told me about you last night. I'm Samantha, but you know that already."

Sam's eyes went back and forth between the twins. "You have the same eyes. And height, of course. But little else, from what I can see."

Theresa smiled. "I have the better personality. Ky's really boring. All work and training and no play."

Kyle shot daggers at his sister. "How 'bout you go inside and get a muffin?"

Theresa got the hint and headed inside.

"Sorry about her. You find the place okay?"

Sam shook her head and her blond curls bounced. "No problems. It seems like everyone I talked to knew this café."

"Come on inside. It's great!" Kyle held the doors open and followed Sam inside. Ethan was gaming on his laptop while Kira and Conner did homework on a nearby table. Theresa chatted with Hayley at the bar. She had a muffin in front of her and nibbled on it.

Ethan was getting a tad too loud talking to his computer. Conner was getting fed up. "Dude, do you mind?"

The boy in blue didn't respond. He was too into whatever game he was playing. Conner reached over and turned off Ethan's computer.

"What are you doing?"

Kyle guided Sam over to the trio.

"I can't concentrate with you blowing up things in my ear."

"Hey, guys. I want to introduce someone. This is Samantha, she's training with me at the gym."

The three said their hellos. "These are Ethan, Conner, and Kira, my friends." Kyle and Sam pulled up chairs beside Kira. "What are you guys working on?"

Kira groaned and held up a textbook. "That paper for history. It's due tomorrow. Why aren't you working on it?" Kira wondered of her green-clothed friend.

"T and I finished it two days ago," Kyle responded.

"I finished mine last week," piped up Ethan. He was back to blowing up evil space aliens again. "Trent and I jammed on it while you and Conner were being all David Beckham and –"

"Don't even go there!" Kira cut the Blue Ranger off before he could finish.

Ethan returned to his computer. "Wasn't going to."

Conner interrupted the uncomfortable silence. "So, Samantha, you likin' Reefside so far?"

Samantha smiled. "It's sunnier than Philadelphia, I'll give it that."

"And more monster-ridden." Kyle glared at the Red Ranger. What was he doing?

Sam cocked her head to one side. "True, but Reefside also has Power Rangers to protect the citizens against said monsters."

Conner smiled at Sam. "Do you have a favorite?"

"I've always been partial to a guy in green," the blonde gymnast cast a sidelong glance at Kyle's green t-shirt.

Kira glanced around the crowded café. "Where is Trent? I thought he was working today."

Conner scribbled in his notebook. "Hayley gave him the day off. I think he's spending some quality time with his dad."

Sam was quick to pick up on the emotions rolling off Conner. "You really don't like Trent's dad, do you?"

Conner flipped his pen onto the table. "Not since he tried to take over the café, no."

Kira smiled sadly at Sam. "Doctor Mercer's really rich and expects more from his son than waiting tables."

Kyle took a deep breath. He probably shouldn't reveal this, but what the hell? "I've never liked the guy since he hit on my mom when he knew she was Dad's wife."

That had everyone's attention, including his sister's. **What the hell are you doing? That's private!**

Kyle ignored his sister's mental yelling. "You guys didn't notice the chill between Mom and Mercer the other day?" Kyle glanced at all of his friends individually. They were all stunned.

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><p>Theresa settled into first period science still giggling over her dad's field trip outfit. She had to give him credit though. He really did look like a paleontologist, instruments and all.<p>

The brunette shot daggers at her twin as he settled down beside her. He normally wasn't in her class. He normally had fifth period with their dad but Dad wanted them both on this field trip, so here he was. Theresa was still pissed about Kyle's revelation to their friends last night.

"I can't believe you told them about Mom and Mercer!"

"So what? Like its some big secret?"

Theresa continued to glare. "I would think that kind of stuff should stay private! Our friends don't need to know what went on between our parents and Mercer years ago!"

Kyle crossed his arms. "Our friends deserve to know why Mom and Mercer were all cold toward each other."

Their dad clapped his hands together. "Okay, there's only so much you can learn in a classroom. Who's ready for some field work?"

Theresa slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Let's go." She shot her brother a nasty look. "Don't try to sit anywhere near me on the bus."

Kyle shoved past his sister. "Like I'd want to!"

Tommy tried to catch his son and talk to him but got waylaid by Cassidy.

"Dr. Oliver, may we have permission to film today's dig for journalism class? It's just that I think it'll be good for my career if I start focusing on more exciting things like nature and science."

Devin, naturally, was right behind his blond friend. "But, Cass, I thought you said this stuff was dull as dirt?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes and held up a hand. "Uh, actually, Devin, I think I was talking about our last conversation."

Tommy smiled. "Relax, Cassidy. You can film today's dig."

The teen smiled as she and Devin departed the classroom. Tommy turned back to his desk and grabbed his case. Principal Randall blocked his exit. Except the dark-haired woman was dressed to go on some sort of safari…

"Doctor Oliver."

Tommy gulped. He didn't like that tone of voice. "Principal Randall? Are you in a play?" 'Cause, yeah, that sounded right.

"No, I'm here to join you on your field trip."

Tommy watched his boss carefully. "I assure you, I can handle twenty teenagers at a dig site. And I didn't realize you are interested in dinosaur bones?"

"I'm hardly concerned about the students." Randall hefted her shovel onto her shoulders. "You'd be surprised at what interests me."

Even Tommy wasn't oblivious enough to be blind to the principal's flirting. Kim wasn't going to be happy about this…

"I'd love to remind you that I'm happily married with two kids."

Randall smirked. "That's what they all say. Shall we?" She turned around. Tommy sighed. There was no getting out of bringing Randall along.

"Okay, the bus is right outside."

"Great! You can dazzle me with fascinating fossil facts on the way." Tommy grimaced as Randall walked away. He made up his mind to sit with Kyle and figure out what was bugging him. **That** should keep Randall away.

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><p>Tommy and his fellow paleontologists set the kids to work as soon as the bus arrived at the site. Tommy made sure one of his kids was with him at all times. Better to keep Randall away with.<p>

Theresa worked with her dad and they discovered a trilobite. The young brunette growled as Randall came over, all fake interested. Tommy talked to his daughter, but also had to include Randall in the conversation, unfortunately.

"It's from the Paleozoic era. Which makes it about…" Tommy blew on the bit of rock as Theresa brushed excess dirt away, "300 million years old."

The Black Ranger held out the fossil to Randall after Theresa finished examining it. Randall pretended to examine the rock with a magnifying glass.

"Amazing! It doesn't look a day over 200 million," the principal finished with a girlish chuckle that was completely out of place. Theresa gagged and glared at her dad's boss. Randall noticed.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." The Orange Ranger crossed her arms. "Just a woman so desperate for a date she resorts to flirting with my dad, who hasn't even looked at another woman since he was fifteen!"

Tommy stood back and wondered what would happen. He just hoped his daughter knew what she was doing.

"You're delusional."

Theresa simply smirked and walked away. Kyle noticed his father alone with Randall and took his sister's place. They may be fighting but they still had a duty to protect their father.

"Dad, Conner and I might have found something. Wanna take a look?"

"Yes! Uh, I mean, lead the way." Tommy followed his son over to Conner and Kyle's section of the dig.

**Thank you! Something is seriously wrong with her! She won't leave me alone!**

Kyle laughed and responded aloud since they were far enough away from Randall. "At least you've gotten less oblivious to female attention as you've gotten older."

Tommy smacked his son upside his head. "Smart Alec."

Ethan called his friends over to his section of the dig. "Hey, you guys! Over here!"

Theresa, Conner, and Kira crouched next to Ethan. Conner peered at whatever Ethan discovered. "Great. What is it?"

Theresa gasped. She ran to get her dad, who was once again shadowed by Randall. Kyle was nowhere to be seen.

**You're being ridiculous, Ky! You can stand to be around me, I know you can.**

** We may have to live together, but I don't have to like it!**

Theresa huffed and returned her attention back to the adults. She tried to be as casual as possible, with Randall invading Tommy's personal space. "Uh, Dad? We need some help identifying something."

**I believe it's a dinozord egg, but not positive.**

"We think it might be a…morphasaurus." Her last statement was for Randall to buy, or not.

Tommy cocked his head at his daughter. "Sure, I-I'll be right there."

Theresa ran back to Ethan and the others. **Drop Randall like a bad habit and let's go!**

"Excuse me, a teacher's work is never done." Tommy quickly followed his daughter. Ethan held up his find as soon as Theresa and Tommy arrived. "I think it might be a dinozord egg."

"So Theresa told me." Ethan handed the egg over to his teacher. As was usual for the day, Randall couldn't be ditched for very long.

"Ooh, a discovery! How exciting!"

Theresa took the egg from her dad as Tommy attempted to ditch Randall for yet another time.

"Actually, I'm not sure what it is."

**But it is a dinozord egg, right, Dad?**

** Can't exactly confirm that in front of Randall the Annoying, now, can I?**

The principal was one stubborn woman. "It looks like a prehistoric egg."

Theresa rolled her eyes. **Actually, Dad made only a few years ago. But I can't tell you that, can I?**

Tommy glared at his daughter. She mentally shut up.

Randall held out a hand. "May I?"

Theresa fought her instinct to run away with the egg.

"Don't worry. I won't drop it."

The youngest Oliver reluctantly handed over the egg. Randall perused it carefully.

"I should really take the egg back to the school lab and examine it," Tommy suggested.

"Of course, here." Randall held the egg out. Tyrannodrones picked that moment to attack the dig site. Students fled in every direction. The teenage Rangers separated and dealt with the drones. Tommy grabbed Randall's hand and tore a path through the drones.

Kyle found himself back-to-back with his sister. Drones came at them from all sides. "You go low. I'll get them from above."

Theresa nodded. "Okay." True to her spirit animal, Theresa kept low and danced through the drones, landing well placed kicks and punches with deadly accuracy. Kyle was just as effective, only he floated above the pack of drones.

An attack from one drone left Randall off-balance on the edge of a pit. The egg flew away. Tommy raced over and saved Randall. She landed on top of him.

"I'll get the egg," she volunteered and disappeared behind a mound of dirt.

"Doctor Oliver, catch!" Tommy turned just in time to see Randall heave the egg over the mound. He caught it easily. The drones disappeared. The Rangers and Randall joined Tommy.

"You okay?" Tommy asked his boss. He never liked civilians on a battlefield.

Randall nodded once. "I think so."

"We better get back to school," Tommy suggested.

Randall halted the teens before they took a step. "Would you mind telling me where you learned to fight like that?"

Kyle and Theresa shared a look. "We learned from Dad. And Mom. And their friends," Theresa stated with a smirk.

"Karate Club," was the best Conner could come up with. The five of them hurried to the bus.

Randall turned her attention to Tommy. "Do we even have one of those?"

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I'm still new here."

"And you taught your children how to fight?"

"It was more my best friend than me, blame him, and my wife wanted to make sure our kids could defend themselves." Tommy slipped his arm out of Randall's grip and hurried to join everyone else on the bus.

* * *

><p>When they got home, Kyle rushed off to practice. Theresa was all too happy to regale Kim with her principal's antics.<p>

"You should've seen her! Randall was acting way gross! I don't think she let Dad get three feet away all day!"

Kimberly stroked her barely bulging belly. She peered at her embarrassed husband over the top of a report from the gym. "You did let her down gently, didn't you, Handsome?"

Tommy looked up from his examination of the dinozord egg. "I tried! I told her I am happily married. She knows T and Ky are our kids. I wear a wedding band. How much more obvious can it get?"

Kim leaned in close to her husband. "One word: Katherine."

From her place at the computer, Theresa saw her dad visibly gulp. "What happened with Katherine? I thought you all were friends."

Tommy resumed examining the egg. He said nothing. It was clear he didn't want to tell his daughter the story. Kim sighed.

"Kat is a great woman and a great friend."

Theresa wasn't following. She knew the blonde was close to dating Dad when Mom showed up, six months pregnant. "Yeah, I know. You chose her to take over as Pink Ranger. You wouldn't have done that if you didn't trust her."

"Kat took being the Pink Ranger a tad too far. She had a major crush on your dad."

Now, Theresa caught on. "She wanted everything belonging to the Pink Ranger."

Kim nodded. "Including Pink Ranger's boyfriend."

Theresa smiled. "I bet she was upset when you came back, all pregnant and saved Dad from Gasket!"

Tommy smiled at Kim and kissed her lightly on the lips. "She was, at first, but she got over it."

Noises from above curtailed their conversation. Conner, Ethan, and Kira joined the Olivers in the basement. Conner took a seat on a step. "So? What's up?"

Kira crossed her arms. "You got anything?"

Ethan helped Tommy run tests on the egg. "I don't know. Something's not right. I can't detect any signs of life."

Theresa came over and placed her hands on the egg. "No heat signatures. Nothing's alive inside."

Tommy shot a confused glance toward Theresa. "That's weird. I'm sure that's a dimetrozord egg."

Conner was confused. "Dimetrozord?"

Tommy looked down at the egg. "It's developed from the dimetrodon. It's really amazing."

"That would explain why the tyrannodrones want it," Kira suggested.

"Yeah," Tommy agreed.

More scans were no further help. Tommy turned in his chair away from the computer. "This is weird. I'm still getting a heat signature from the dig site where we found the egg."

Kira glanced at Kim. "But the egg's not even there anymore," the blonde said quietly.

"Is there another one?" Asked Ethan.

"Theresa and I will check it out. You guys stay here with Kim and keep analyzing this one. Next to me, she knows the most about the dinozords."

The teens nodded as Tommy and Theresa headed up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Tommy parked his Jeep on the edge of a forest. "This will be the quickest route without the other scientists seeing us."<p>

Theresa nodded in response. They got a few paces from the Jeep before Zeltrax dropped down from a portal in front of them. Theresa crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Not him again!"

Tommy settled into a fighting stance. "Zeltrax. I thought I smelled something."

"I believe that will be your immediate demise."

Tommy stepped sideways. "We don't have time to trade insults. Now, out of our way! We have something important to do."

Theresa stood beside her dad. She put her hands on her hips. "I could just set you on fire. All that metal wouldn't hold up very well."

Zeltrax's head turned from one Oliver to another. "That will have to wait until your father is destroyed."

The teenager balled her fists. "You asked for it! Ninja Power!"

Beside her, Tommy slammed his key into his morpher. "Dino Thunder, power up!" Both allowed their power to fill them, bathing them in orange and black light, respectively. The cotton of the ninja settled over Theresa. Tommy felt the familiar spandex and helmet fit into place. As soon as their morphing sequences were complete, they attacked.

* * *

><p>Back in the lab, Kim and the teens continue to analyze the dormant egg.<p>

Ethan set down his scanner, "Mrs. O, I really don't think there's a dinozord in here."

Kim sighed. "You can call me Kim, you know. Mrs. Oliver is my mother-in-law."

Ethan cocked his head in agreement. "Fair enough. But I think this egg's a dud."

The basement alarm sounded and video picked up on a new dinozord rampaging through the forest. Kim gasped as she recognized the design.

"I think we've been had."

"Been had?" Conner asked skeptically.

Kim turned back to the egg. "Open the egg. It should be a fake."

Ethan did as commanded. A mini-Elsa hologram stood in the center of the egg. "Not what you expected, Rangers?" The hologram finished with a final cackle.

Kira wasn't impressed. "Okay, can I just say I'm so over the whole evil laugh thing?"

An ironic smile graced Kim's face. "That was nothing. My husband is the king of evil laughs. Deep and bone-chilling." Her shudder had nothing to do with the coolness of the basement. "I'll have to show you footage of the evil Green Ranger sometime."

Ethan's attention was still on the message. "Man, that message is messed up. How does she do that?"

The alarm blared again. The new dinozord wasn't wasting any time.

"Better get the zords! It's attacking Little Tokyo!" Yelled Conner.

The teens morphed and departed the cave. Kim took her place at the computer. "I'll fill the others in. You three take care of that zord." She typed and opened a channel to Kyle. "Ky, I hate to interrupt but we have a zord on the rampage in Little Tokyo."

"Got it. I'm on my way!"

Kim closed the channel and prepared the zords.

* * *

><p>In the forest, Ethan's zords attacked first. The Dimetrozord fought the Tricerazord easily. Conner's Tyrannozord fared little better. Dimetrozord's saw-like spine was too much.<p>

In another part of the forest, Theresa and Tommy had their hands full with Zeltrax. The cyborg landed a blow on Tommy's shoulder that sent him to the ground. Theresa ran over. She crouched down in front of him. Zeltrax pointed his sword at Tommy.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from her!"

Tommy and his daughter shared a look.

**Her? Who?**

Tommy only shrugged his shoulders in response. "Who?"

Zeltrax didn't respond. He did energize his sword, though. "I have been dreaming of this." The blast missed the Olivers as they rolled out of the way. Both got back on their feet. Tommy landed an aerial kick. Zeltrax stumbled back. He ducked out of the way of a lick of fire from Theresa's hand. The cyborg got in a bolt of electricity to Tommy's chest. Tommy flew and landed on his back. The Black Ranger brought up his weapon.

"Brachiostaff, wind strike!" Tommy's weapon created a vortex of wind. Zeltrax's chest plate sparked and he flew backward across the clearing. Just as he landed, a portal sucked him up.

Theresa and Tommy stood side-by-side. "Zeltrax is interested in someone who is interested in you? He couldn't possibly mean Randall, right?"

Tommy's helmet lowered and cocked to one side. It was obvious he was exasperated with his daughter. "What? Just sayin'!" Theresa held up her hands. The pair powered down.

Tommy squinted in the direction Zeltrax disappeared from. "What's his problem?"

* * *

><p>Kyle met up with his fellow Rangers cheering on the Tyrannozord.<p>

"Not good!"

The Dimetrozord defeated Conner's zord and disappeared underground. One of Mesogog's mutations took its place. Conner and Ethan's zords revived and all four jumped in as soon as Kyle's zord arrived. The other three formed their Megazord. Kyle was on his own without his sister.

Kira sent her pterarang at the monster. Kyle landed a hit with his steel tusks. Theresa quickly joined her brother and their two zords combined.

Tommy was back in their basement lair with Kim. He rapidly assessed the situation. "I don't think their two Megazords are powerful enough. We need something that can break through his armor."

Kim was quick to pick up on her husband's train of thought. "Like a blade or a saw…like the Dimetrozord!"

Tommy opened communications with the Rangers. "You have to use the dinozord you were just fighting."

Conner raised an objection. "Dr. O, in case you haven't noticed, he's not exactly playing well with others!"

Tommy thought for a second. "Let me see if I can do something about that."

Kim watched as her husband touched his gem and his morpher appeared.

"Gotta concentrate," Tommy muttered under his breath. Kim turned her attention back to the fight. If anyone could gain control of the zord, it was Tommy.

In the forest, the Dimetrozord sliced through both Megazords. Thundersaurus went down. The other barely kept standing. Mesogog's monster stomped on Thundersaurus' back while it was down. Dimetrozord sliced at Kyle's arm.

Tommy kept concentrating, attempting to telepathically link with the new zord. He **had** to get through to the Dimetrozord! "Come on!" Slowly, Dimetrozord's head took the place of Brachio on his morpher.

"Yeah! Got him!" Kim placed a congratulatory hand over his.

Thundersaurus got up and rejoined Kyle and Theresa's Megazord. Conner's Tyranno tail gave up its place for the new zord, creating an arm with a powerful saw blade. The monster was rapidly taken down once Dimetrozord's blade sliced through its armor.

As another monster blew up, Tommy and Kim shared a deep kiss. When they separated, Kim smiled at her husband. "You've still got it, Handsome!"

* * *

><p>Kyle met up with Samantha the next day before homeroom. "I'm really sorry on bailing yesterday."<p>

"Coach Gregory was pissed. He expects total dedication. You know that. Especially if you want your shot at making the national team."

"Believe me, I know. But there was a slight family emergency at home. My parents needed me."

Sam removed a final book from her locker and slammed it closed. "It's not me you have to apologize to. It's Gregory." Sam turned and walked down the hall. Kyle ran a hand through his longish hair.

"Why couldn't I have fallen for a fellow Ranger? Then I wouldn't have to worry about lying all the time!"

Kyle made into his dad's classroom for homeroom just in time.

"This is Cassidy Cornell with a special announcement. I have discovered that we have a superhero working right here at Reefside High."

The kids' gazes went from Tommy to the TV and back again.

"Yes, our very own Principal Randall fended off several creatures in an act of selfless bravery."

**What battle was she watching?** Kyle wondered to his family. **So, she rescued a dud egg, big deal!**

Cassidy continued her report. "I was on the scene to bring you exclusive footage. Let's roll tape!"

Instead of the fight with tyrannodrones, a looped video of Cassidy destroying Devin's flower played. "Uh, we seem to be having technical difficulties. Please stand by."

Cassidy signed off. The kids cracked up in relief. Tommy let out a big breath.

Kyle winked at his dad. **That was a close call, Dad!**

Tommy could only shake his head in response. **Gee, no, really, Ky?**

Tommy caught up with his boss after homeroom. "Principal Randall, you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You were pretty tough out there."

Randall stopped on the stairs. "Were you worried about me, Doctor Oliver?"

At the bottom of the stairs, all five teens watched with various displays of curiosity and disgust. The disgust was mainly coming from Kyle and Theresa.

"Of course. I'd be worried for anyone."

Randall drifted off in thought. The bell rang, bringing her back to reality. "The bell, Doctor Oliver. Your next class isn't going to teach itself." The principal stormed off down the stairs.

"Man, that woman is cold-blooded!" Ethan exclaimed when Tommy joined them at the bottom.

"You'd better watch out, Dad. Randall seems like just the woman to go all bipolar. Hot, one minute, cold, the next."

Tommy glared at his daughter. "What would you know about it?"

Kyle put an arm around his sister's shoulder. "Dad, do you not recall when Cam was put under a love spell and he thought he loved Tori? This one went ballistic!"

Theresa shoved her brother off her. "And you weren't even dating yet!" Kyle taunted his little sister.

"I see you being at the beck and call of our latest petite gymnast. Or was that your evil clone waiting by her locker this morning?"

Kyle turned and glared at his sister. "What? I'm not allowed to have friends that don't include you? Or anyone else in our merry little band of superheroes?"

Theresa gaped. "I was only teasing, Ky. I didn't mean it."

"Whatever. I need to get to class." Kyle tore back up the stairs, leaving a confused and hurt Theresa with their dad and friends to comfort her.

"His eyes flashed, Dad. Just like yours used to."

* * *

><p>TBC! Ha! Ha!<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this eighth part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

Thanks to reviewer Sham for their name for the twins' Megazord!

* * *

><p>Ocean Alert<p>

* * *

><p>Trent Fernandez-Mercer settled back against the stones and began to draw. He had the day off from the café and brought his ATV out to his favorite clearing. He glanced up every once in a while as he sketched his latest superhero. After drawing a helmet, Trent leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He loved this space so far from his house…and his dad. Here, Trent didn't have the pressures and expectations of being Anton's son and heir. Here, he was simply…Trent. In this clearing, Trent could remember his parents and how much they loved him. He was so young when they died…<p>

Trent resumed his sketching, not stopping until the character was complete. As was his norm recently, he'd drawn a Power Ranger. But this wasn't like any Ranger outfit he'd ever seen. This Ranger's costume was all white, save for black diamonds running from the shoulder plate all the way down the sides to the boot heels. He hadn't added color but Trent could envision a red visor for the white helmet and a gold belt with the Dino Thunder logo as the buckle.

Trent squinted at the design. Where did his imagination come up with that design?

He brought his head up. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. A flash of white light caught his attention. The light flashed again. Trent stood up and made his way over to the source. It appeared to be a small, glowing rock. He bent down and picked it up. The white light surged through him, making the forest sharper and clearer. He could hear and see so much better! Even in the waning light of dusk, Trent could still see fine.

Trent's head shot up when he heard footsteps approaching. Whoever was out there didn't see him. Somehow, he'd become part of the scenery! He watched as the Black and Yellow Rangers stepped into his clearing.

Yellow cocked her head to one side. "You said you picked up gem energy around here, right?"

The Black Ranger tapped some buttons on a handheld scanner. It began to beep faster the closer it came to Trent. The scanner emitted a continuous tone when the Black Ranger was right in front of Trent.

"There's no one there," Yellow commented.

"Don't believe your eyes," Black responded. A black-gloved hand reached forward and pulled Trent away from his tree. Yellow let out an audible gasp as Trent materialized right in front of her.

The Black Ranger brought up Trent's closed fist. Trent's hand opened to reveal the White Dino Gem.

"Camouflage. The gem's already bonded to him," Black surmised.

Trent waved his free hand in front of Black's visor. "Hello? Anybody in there?"

Black placed a hand on his hip. "Yes?"

"I'm standing right here. What's going on? One minute, I was in front of the tree, the next I was the tree!"

Yellow pointed to the glowing rock in Trent's hand. "That gem gave you the power of camouflage. You didn't actually become the tree but changed to match. Like a chameleon."

Trent's gaze went from one Ranger to another. Were they serious? One little rock gave him superpowers? Trent swallowed back his fear. "Okay. What did you mean when you said the gem bonded to me?"

Yellow crossed her arms across her chest. "You're taking this way too calmly. I know I freaked out at first."

Trent shook his head. "I'll freak out later, trust me. Please, answer my question."

Black held up his morpher. "Inside is a gem just like the one you're holding, except mine's black, obviously. The gem drives the morpher, allowing us to transform into Power Rangers. Each gem bonds to one particular person, the person it's most suited for. The White Gem chose you."

Trent blinked, indicating he was absorbing the information. "So why didn't I…what do you call it?"

"Morph," Black supplied. "And I can explain more in our base, if you want to come with us. You don't have to if you don't want to, of course. Nobody's forcing you."

Trent searched Black's visor. He couldn't see who was under the helmet, but Trent felt better if he thought he was looking straight into the Black Ranger's eyes. "What happens if I decide not to?"

Black shrugged his shoulders. "You keep your gem and go about your normal life. But once our enemy discovers you have a power he covets, he'll stop at nothing until he gets it. And the only way to get your power is to destroy you."

Yellow tapped Black on the shoulder. "Still not a good selling point."

Trent again gulped down his fear. Being destroyed did not sound pleasant. "And if I choose to come with you?"

Black nodded his helmet. "You get your questions answered and you have the possibility of becoming a Power Ranger."

Trent's eyes went wide. "Me? A Power Ranger?"

Black nodded again. "Only if you want. But you must choose quickly. We don't have much time before Mesogog learns of the gem's location."

Trent deliberated his options. Either he could return home and be vulnerable to possible attacks or he could go with the Black and Yellow Rangers and become just like them.

"Okay. I'll come with you."

Black nodded. "Good. You can follow us back."

Trent went back to his clearing, packed up his belongings and got on his ATV. He rode to where Yellow left her Raptor Cycle. Black rode with Yellow on her bike and Trent followed them to the mouth of a cave. Black dismounted from the bike.

"You can leave your ATV out here. Nothing will happen to it."

Trent could only nod. He followed the Black Ranger deeper into the cave and through a series of tunnels until they reached a dead end with a dinosaur fossil to the right. Trent looked around. "Where'd Yellow go?"

"There's another entrance for the bikes," Black Ranger responded. He paused and stood straight. "You can still back out. No harm done. But know this, once I open this door, there's no going back. All you see and hear and do must be kept secret."

Trent gaped. "I can't even tell my dad?"

Black shook his head. "You cannot tell your dad anything. That is one of the sacrifices in becoming a Ranger. Do you still want to do this?"

Trent stared at the slab of rock in front of him. Could he? Could he keep something so enormous from the man who gave him everything? He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm ready."

"Okay," said Black.

Black's hand reached up and pulled down on the fossil's lower jaw. The slab of rock in front of Trent rose slowly, revealing the underground base of the Dino Thunder Power Rangers. Trent gaped as he stepped forward. The long, rectangular cave ended with a bank of computers at the far end.

"Amazing!"

A chuckle from off to his right startled Trent. Conner McKnight, Ethan James, and Kira Ford all stepped into the light.

"You three are…" Trent asked even as he took a step back.

"Power Rangers? Yup," Conner replied and smiled.

"Then who's the Black Ranger? And Green and Orange?" Trent turned in circles, taking everything in.

"Turn around, Trent." That voice? Trent turned. "Oh my God!"

Wearing the Black Ranger costume without the helmet was…Doctor Oliver! To Oliver's right was his daughter, Theresa. Her bright orange shirt clued Trent in to the Orange Ranger's identity. Trent didn't recognize the caramel-haired woman to his teacher's left. She held out her hand.

"I'm Kimberly Hart-Oliver, Tommy's wife and Kyle and Theresa's mother. Most people just call me Kim."

Trent shook her hand. He paled again when the next person stepped forward. "Hayley? You're in on this too?"

His boss smiled as she resumed her place at the computer bank. "I've known Tommy and Kim since college. I'm their resident genius and tech support."

Trent felt weird listening to people call his teacher by his given name. He mentally chuckled. That was probably the sanest part of all this! Then he noticed that there was a Ranger missing. "I'm assuming Kyle's the Green Ranger?"

From her place beside her dad, Theresa snapped her fingers. "Got it in one! He'd be here but he's at the gym, practicing."

Trent took a deep breath and calmed himself. Kim's eyes twinkled. "I know how much it is to take in at first."

Trent's eyebrows rose. "You do?"

Kim nodded. "I was the first Pink Ranger back in 1993. One minute my friends and I were riding out an earthquake, the next we were in the old command center, staring up at a giant floating head. Talk about weird!"

Trent faced his teacher. "How'd you get involved in all this?"

Tommy grimaced. "Rita Repulsa, the Rangers' main adversary at the time, watched me perform at a martial arts expo shortly after I moved to Angel Grove. She was so impressed she made me her Green Ranger. Rita put me under a spell. I was forced to do her bidding, which meant she forced me to fight the Rangers. The Red Ranger broke the spell and offered me to join them."

Trent nodded. He'd ask more about it at another time. He took another deep breath to calm himself. He was about to jump off the cliff into an entirely new life. "What's involved in making me a Power Ranger?"

Doctor Oliver smiled tightly and brought his student over to the computer.

* * *

><p>As he left the gym, Kyle shuddered and pulled his jacket closer to him. They might live in Southern California, but fall was still fall and temperatures still dipped as the sun went down.<p>

Kyle was about halfway home when he felt something bite the back of his neck.

"Ow!" He brought his hand up to feel the bite. When he brought his hand back, his fingers were covered in blood.

"What the hell?"

His vision blurred and he stumbled down the street. He didn't hear the drones coming up behind him. The last thing Kyle Oliver remembered was hearing Elsa's mocking laugh.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Trent and the other kids had gone home, leaving only Tommy, Kim, and Theresa to worry over Kyle's whereabouts. Kim searched through the security cameras' feeds from the gym. They showed Kyle leaving around 5:30 and then, nothing. She searched the cameras from the surrounding streets.<p>

"Got him!" Kim's cry brought her husband and daughter running over to the computer. The grainy green and white video played. Kyle got stung or bitten by something, then lost his balance. Tyrannodrones grabbed onto him and Elsa stood over Kyle and laughed. The group disappeared into a portal.

"Can we figure out where that portal led?" Tommy asked, grasping Kim's hand.

Theresa typed furiously. "Mesogog's gotten smarter since he grabbed you. I doubt even Uncle Billy will be able to trace the portal, let alone figure out where Elsa took Kyle."

Tommy looked away from his daughter, his frustration mounting. "Can we assume Elsa took him to Mesogog's fortress?"

Theresa shook her head in bewilderment. "But why kidnap Kyle?" She wondered aloud. "What possible use could Kyle be to Mesogog? Any more than the rest of us?"

Tommy grimaced. "I don't know. We don't even know that's where Kyle was taken. We have no way to get there. Breaking through Mesogog's security will take forever now."

Kim glanced at the clock, suddenly exhausted. She sat back in her chair and rubbed her lower back. "It's late. There's nothing we can do tonight, as much as I hate to admit it. The computer's running a search for Kyle's life signs. If it finds anything, we'll know."

Tommy rubbed the bleariness from his eyes. He never felt so old as he did today. "I can't just go to bed and not know my son is okay, Kim!"

"You think this isn't killing me, as well? He's my baby and Elsa has him who knows where! I really need you to hold it together for me!" Kim nearly broke down in tears, collapsing into her husband's waiting arms. Tommy wrapped his arms around his wife.

"We'll find Kyle or he'll escape and come back to us. It'll be alright."

Seeing her parents wrapped in their own emotions stirred Theresa up the basement steps and onto the phone with Cam. She needed someone else to be strong as much as her mom did. Theresa talked with her boyfriend for hours, until her dad urged her to bed. Just hearing Cam's voice cheered her up considerably. Theresa fell asleep with hope that the morning would bring better news.

* * *

><p>Tommy called all the Rangers over early in the morning to let them know what happened the night before.<p>

"What do we do now?" Conner asked.

Tommy sighed. "Nothing, until we know where Kyle is. We just have to go about our lives until the computer locates him."

Conner glared at his teacher. "Your son is missing! How can you sit back and do nothing?"

Tommy's eyes narrowed and flashed green for a brief second. "You think I don't realize that? You think I don't want to storm into Mesogog's lair and slam his head against a wall until he releases Kyle? He's my only son! Kim and I are going out of our minds with worry! But we can't show that! We have to be the adults and not fall apart!"

Conner was immediately contrite. "I'm sorry. I know this is difficult for all of you. We can't even begin to imagine what you're going through."

Kim smiled sadly at the Red Ranger. "Thank you."

Ethan shrugged. "Is there really nothing we can do?"

Theresa shook her head.

"Just go about your lives. You'll be contacted if anything changes," Tommy suggested to his teenage teammates.

Kira was still hesitant. "If you're sure…"

"I am. Go. I know you all have things to do today."

The teens reluctantly departed the lab. Tommy sighed. "You too, Theresa. I know that you and Kira want to discuss the band."

His daughter protested. "Ky's my twin." She closed her eyes and concentrated, hoping to get something…any sign of Kyle. Theresa's head shook. "Wherever Kyle is, it's blocking telepathic communication. I still feel him but can't get through!"

Kim came over and wrapped an arm around her daughter. "Let us handle Kyle. You go be a kid, while you still can."

Theresa headed for the exit but turned back. "But you'll call the instant something changes?"

Kim nodded. "You'll be the first to know."

* * *

><p>Theresa met up with her friends at the café. Conner, Ethan, and Kira sat at the counter. Ethan, as usual, was on his laptop. Kira stared off into space.<p>

"Check it out! It says here that brainwaves are just electrical impulses that if converted into a binary language can be downloaded." At least Ethan could be easily distracted by weird facts from the Internet, Theresa thought.

Trent joined the conversation from his place behind the counter. "I read about that. It means our eyes can become the video cameras of the future."

Theresa stirred her straw around her smoothie. "Too bad that hasn't happened yet. Then I'd be able to know where my brother is," she moped.

Theresa didn't even turn around when Nikki Valentina stepped into the café. Kira patted her friend's arm.

"Hey, isn't that the girl from _Ocean Alert_?"

Theresa continued to mope.

Ethan's eyes couldn't get any wider. "The most popular television show of all time? Does anyone have a brown paper bag? I'm hyperventilating!"

Every single male in the place couldn't take his eyes off the actress. Ethan magically procured a brown bag and breathed into it. Theresa still hadn't turned around. She wouldn't have cared if the Queen of England entered the café.

Billy was probably the only person in the café who wasn't star struck. He continued to fix one of the computers. His girlfriend, on the other hand, couldn't greet Nikki fast enough.

"Welcome to Hayley's Cyberspace! What can I get for you?" The redhead beamed at Nikki.

"I'm just dying for a wheat grass shake with a twist of lemon." The star's voice was higher than Hayley expected, more childish than one expected from a twenty something.

Hayley let out a little sigh. "Oh, sorry. We just ran out of wheat grass. How about a banana berry smoothie?"

Valentina flipped her too perfect black hair. "Did I ask for a smoothie? I'm fairly certain I asked for a wheat grass shake."

Hayley tried to keep the smile on her face. "And, as I said, we-"

"All right, I'll give you $100 for it."

Hayley gaped, "I'm sorry, you can't buy what I don't have."

Valentina was definitely used to being spoiled rotten. "Listen, I don't know if you noticed this, but I'm Nikki Valentina. There is nothing I can't buy."

Theresa finally turned around. Nobody pushed Hayley around in her own place of business. Billy finished with his repairs and moved over by Trent behind the counter.

Hayley simply shook her head in disbelief. Valentina had had enough. "Never mind. I'm over this place."

Cassidy trapped the star before she could leave.

"Miss Valentina, Cassidy Cornell, Reefside Reporter. I'm a huge fan."

Valentina rolled her eyes. "Of course you are," she replied condescendingly.

Cassidy pushed forward. "Someday, I'm going to be a big star, too, except I'm going to be a news anchor, but, like, maybe we could work together! I know! I could be on _Ocean Alert_!"

"Honey, you better get yourself a new dream. 'Cause being me-well, that's mine and I'm not sharing. Let's go," Valentina told her two minions. The trio quickly departed.

Ethan sighed. "I have to meet her or my life will never be complete."

Billy wiped a glass clean and put it away. "Word of advice, Ethan. Go after somebody a little more attainable."

Theresa eyed her uncle. "Like Hayley went after you?"

Billy was offended. "I'm more real than Nikki Valentina."

For the first time in 24 hours, Theresa giggled. "You're high-tech genius. You were the first Blue Ranger. You're a trained ninja. You had a relationship with an alien and spent a good portion of the last several years living on a water planet. Not to mention that you pretty much designed Power Rangers from scratch. Yeah, okay, that's real, all right."

Billy smiled at his niece. "Real enough for Hayley."

Theresa conceded her uncle's point. She returned her attention to her friends.

Conner was still awestruck. "I'll introduce you at our wedding," he told the Blue Ranger.

The girls scoffed. The Yellow Ranger closed her eyes. "Oh, brother."

Trent emerged from behind the bar. "My shift is officially over. Ready to go?"

Kira nodded and got off her stool. Ethan noticed. "Where are you two headed?"

"Trent's going to show me some sketches he's done for the cover of my demo," replied Kira.

They barely made it to the door when Trent's cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the Caller ID. Trent silenced the call.

Kira could figure out who called. "Let me guess, your dad?"

"Yeah, he needs me at home. I'm really sorry." Trent exited the café just as Samantha entered. The gymnast spotted Theresa and stormed over to her.

"Hey, have you seen Kyle today? He never showed at the gym for practice."

The Orange Ranger gulped. Billy sent her a sympathetic glance. "Haven't seen Ky today. Won't see him for a while. He left town for a bit."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "Kyle left town? Voluntarily?"

Theresa took a sip of her smoothie. "He does it on occasion. Likes to get away. Clear his head. He's amazingly like our dad that way."

Sam pressed Theresa for information. "Where did he go? When is he coming back?"

Theresa thought for a second. She had to be sure to be vague enough yet please Sam's need for info. "He never says where he goes, not until well later. When we lived in Angel Grove, he went to our great-uncle's cabin by a lake. The year we lived in Blue Bay, Ky enjoyed a quiet stretch of beach. We don't know where he likes to escape to here. And he never tells us when he's coming back. He just pops up."

Sam narrowed her blue eyes. "What about school and gymnastics? Won't he get in trouble for missing them?"

Theresa gagged on her sip of smoothie. "Kyle could graduate tomorrow, if he wished. He's that smart. We also have several geniuses for friends so if he misses a few days, it won't be a disaster."

The blonde wouldn't relent. "What about gymnastics? Gregory is furious right now. He's going to be more irate the longer Kyle stays gone."

Theresa put a hand on Samantha's shoulder. "Again, don't worry, Sam. Ky will come home and charm Gregory's pants off. Not literally, of course."

Theresa hadn't realized she'd drawn a small crowd of her friends, Hayley and Billy while she talked to Samantha. Her blond uncle chimed in.

"We'll have Kyle call you once he returns from his sojourn."

Samantha nodded, apparently satisfied. She wandered off to another part of the café.

Theresa groaned. "I hate lying. Or running around the truth." She was back to moping. Billy sat down next to his niece.

"Still no word?"

Theresa shook her head. "I hate Mesogog. I hate Elsa. I want my brother back now!" Small flames enveloped her fist as she slammed it onto the counter. The flames vanished as quickly as they appeared. Billy gulped.

"It appears your power reacts to instances of enormous stress."

* * *

><p>Tommy and Kim spent their morning continuing their search for Kyle when a dino egg alert came through the system.<p>

"I know you're out there," Tommy muttered to his computer. "If my calculations are correct, you should be just about ready to hatch. But where?"

Kim shook her head. "The first indication of insanity is talking to inanimate objects."

Tommy chuckled in response. "Then I went insane when Zordon gave me a talking sword. Still nothing on Kyle?"

"Wherever Elsa's hiding him is well shielded. Not a peep," Kim said as she sat back in her chair. "Still no sign of the egg, either?"

Tommy grimaced. "It's out there but I can't pin down its location."

"Have you finished modifications to the Tentradontas Megazord?"

Tommy nodded. "Kyle's zord will come when Theresa calls for it. It'll just take more concentration on her part to run the entire Megazord herself."

Kim rubbed her eyes. Not sleeping was catching up to her. Tommy noticed.

"Go up and take a nap. It's not good to go without sleep. Especially in your condition."

His wife agreed. "But if you need help…"

Tommy smiled. "I'll call Hayley or Billy. Go sleep."'

Kim kissed her husband on the mouth before she went upstairs. Tommy was left alone to find his son and the dino egg.

His egg search was put on hold when drones attacked downtown. He opened communication with the other Rangers.

"Guys, we have tyrannodrones downtown and a little problem on the beach."

Ethan, Kira, and Conner took on the drones downtown while Theresa and Trent dealt with the monster at the beach. The pair headed in the direction of the beach club, having heard Valentina's screams. Behind her visor, Theresa rolled her eyes.

Behind his red tinted visor, Trent did the same. "Are monsters always this ugly?"

Theresa sent a fireball at the creature. "I've seen uglier!"

Tommy ran in and kicked the monster back from Nikki.

"You're late!" Theresa berated her dad.

Tommy punched the creature. "Had to wait for backup!" He glanced at Mesogog's most recent creation. "Aw man, I hate shark monsters!"

The creature floundered on its back. Tommy glanced over at the actress. "You alright?"

She didn't hear him. She was too busy inspecting her nails. "Great! Where am I going to find someone to fix my nails without an appointment?"

Tommy had met some vapid women in life but this one wasn't even fazed by the attacking monster! She truly couldn't see beyond herself!

Nikki stalked, Theresa assumed, to find a nail salon.

The monster got back on its feet and Tommy morphed. His daughter and Trent stood on either side. The newest Ranger appeared to have no problems keeping up.

Sharkey blasted the trio with an energy bolt, sending all three over the balcony and landing on the ground below. Conner, Ethan, and Kira quickly joined them.

Valentina exited the beach club, still worried about her chipped polish. Conner pointed. "Hey, it's Nikki!"

The two boys proved that, even morphed, males didn't use the heads attached to their shoulder. Red Ranger stepped forward. "Check it out, baby! It's all about the red!"

Blue Ranger waved Red back. "Unless you prefer a kinder, gentler, Power Ranger."

"What?"

Theresa smacked her gloved hand against her helmet. "Save me from hormonal teenage boys."

Sharkey blasted Red and Blue, sending them to the deck. Tommy could only moan. "Oh, man!"

Sharkey jumped down and captured Valentina. He disappeared with his prisoner into a portal. Tommy, Theresa, and Trent ran up to the others.

"You guys okay?" Tommy asked of Red and Blue.

Kira glared at her friends through her visor. "Next time, check your hormones at the door before you morph."

The Orange Ranger chuckled. "They can't see you glaring."

Kira put her hands on her hips. "Well, I am. If I had Orange's power, you two would be ashes!"

Tommy corralled his team. "Let's get back to the lab."

* * *

><p>Trent returned to his house after the fight, later than his father liked. He walked past Anton's office, hoping not to be noticed.<p>

"You're late, son," Mercer stated without turning from the bookcase. "And you know how I value punctuality."

Trent turned back and entered the office. "Yeah, I know, I just, kinda, had plans."

"I had plans, too, Trent. I won't be around forever."

The teen shrugged his shoulders. He hated when Anton talked like this. "Where are you going?"

Mercer still hadn't turned around. "Nowhere right now, but if anything unforeseen should happen to me, I need to know the family business will be in good hands. That you understand that."

Trent would bet all his dad's money Dr. O never talked to his son about the family business being in good hands.

**Of course not, **thought Trent, **his family's business is keeping the world safe.**

"Yes, Dad, I can." Trent walked away before Anton could continue.

* * *

><p>Conner and Ethan examined themselves in a mirror. Their faces were covered in foul pustules.<p>

"This is not good," Ethan moaned. Theresa scoffed.

"You guys were lucky you were morphed. It could've been a lot worse," cautioned Tommy as he walked past them to the computer bank.

"I can't believe this!" Conner exclaimed at his reflection. "How am I supposed to save Nikki now? Look at my face!"

**Who's the more vapid now?** Theresa thought at her dad.

Tommy glanced over at the Red and Blue Rangers. **Right now? Conner, with Ethan right behind him.**

Theresa chuckled. Kira stared at her oddly.

Ethan pressed gently against a pimple. "Mine looks like it should be delivered in 30 minutes or less!"

"Dad knows some people who actually have been a pizza," Theresa replied to Ethan's moan.

"Been a pizza? Really?" Kira glanced between Theresa and Tommy. "I'm assuming there's a story there."

Tommy shrugged. "Just something that happened to the Turbo team after I left. You'd be better asking my replacement about it."

Kira filed that tidbit away and returned her focus to the idiots in front of the mirror. "You know, most people could look past the rash and see the person on the inside."

Theresa nodded. "I did when Cam almost turned into a giant bug. Now, that was disgusting!" The youngest Oliver shuddered.

"Okay, Nikki Valentina is not like most of us," stated Conner.

"Two arms, two legs, all seem the same to me," responded Kira.

"What arms and legs! Not to mention the rest of her," Ethan gushed.

The computer's alarm sounded. Theresa was almost grateful. Tommy perused the screen. "It seems like Mesogog shares your infatuation," Tommy quipped as he rushed over to the computer. Hayley turned away from the computer.

"We already know he's thrown up firewalls around the Invisiportals. Not even the Raptor Cycles could get in."

Theresa threw up her hands. "Great! Not only does Mesogog have my brother, he also has someone who will only be missed by several million viewers!" Her day was just getting better and better. Theresa realized someone was missing from the lab. "Where's Mom?"

Her dad tilted his head up. "Getting some rest, I hope."

"Oh."

Hayley turned back to face the group. "I don't know how but Nikki's made it out. She's back at the beach."

Kira crossed her arms. "Getting out of Mesogog's lair is the easy part. I did it and I wasn't even a Ranger yet."

Tommy watched as the monster dropped down behind Valentina. "Should've seen that one coming." He stood up. "Hayley, keep tracking that egg."

The redhead nodded. "I will. Good luck."

All five morphed. Tommy and Theresa headed for the beach while the other three took on the monster. Zeltrax crashed the party. Theresa hung back and took shots at Zeltrax with her bow, throwing in the occasional fireball. Tommy did most of the hand-to-hand combat.

Tommy grunted as Zeltrax kicked him. "A little help, here!"

Theresa allowed her bow to disappear and sent Zeltrax stumbling back with a roundhouse kick to his stomach. Zeltrax responded with a backhand that sent Theresa back.

* * *

><p>Back in the lab, Kim came down as Hayley worked on finding the latest dino zord egg. "How's it goin'?"<p>

Hayley glanced back at her friend. "You look terrible. Were you able to get any sleep?"

Kim shook her head. She peered at the split screens in front of her. One showed three Rangers fighting a monster, the other showed her husband and daughter engaging Zeltrax. A third screen displayed a map.

"Yes! Got it!" Hayley typed and the map screen zoomed in on the dino zord egg's location.

"The egg's been at the beach club this whole time?" Kim wondered in amazement.

"I'll go retrieve it. Can you monitor the Rangers?"

Kim nodded and replaced Hayley in front of the computer.

* * *

><p>Tommy pinned one of Zeltrax's arms behind him. "I'm having some serious déjà vu, Zeltrax!"<p>

"This is far from over!" The cyborg escaped the hold and kicked the back of Tommy's knee. The Black Ranger fell to one knee on the sand. "I will return and then you will all pay!"

Zeltrax retreated and disappeared into a portal.

Theresa helped her dad up. "One down, one ugly shark monster to go," Theresa muttered as she and her dad hurried to catch up with the others. The Z-Rex Blaster was formed even as Theresa called for her bow. Her arrows hit home at the same time as the blaster fire. Sharkey exploded into monster bits.

"Why wait to summon the zords?" Theresa wondered as the monster was regenerated and grew. Tommy brought up his morpher.

"Brachio, zord time!"

Ethan, Kira, and Conner jumped into their zords and formed their Megazord. Theresa was surprised when both hers and Kyle's zords showed up and combined.

Tommy pointed. "The Mastadonzord is now on auto-pilot. You'll just have to concentrate harder to control the Megazord. You can do it."

Theresa nodded and jumped. She glanced around the cockpit. She never felt so alone than she did in that moment. Her cockpit felt too cavernous without Kyle beside her.

Orange Ranger had little time to contemplate as Sharkey punched her Megazord. She retaliated with a kick to its legs. Sharkey unleashed a blast of water. Conner, Ethan, and Kira fell out of their Megazord. A few minutes later, Theresa fell beside them onto the beach.

"What happened?" Kira wondered.

Tommy ran over to his students. "Guys! You all right?"

Sharkey unleashed a tidal wave on Reefside. Tommy's Jeep veered to halt in front of them. "Guys! I've found the egg! Catch!" Hayley tossed the egg to Ethan, who caught it easily. He was about to hand it over when the head on his morpher changed.

"Whoa!"

The egg glowed. Seconds later, a massive Stegozord stood beside the Rangers.

"Incredible!" Even Tommy was impressed by the new zord. And he helped to create the zords in the first place! "Okay, guys, we've got a new friend. Use your telepathy to tame the Stegozord and combine with you," Tommy ordered.

The three returned to their Megazord. Theresa opted to watch from the ground with her dad. She just couldn't control her Megazord without Kyle. The pair watched as the back of the Stegozord split to either side and the Thundersaurus Megazord used the Stegozord as a surfboard. They drilled through the monster and the tidal wave. All was well in Reefside, once again.

For Theresa, the victory felt hollow without her twin there to celebrate with her.

**Kyle? Where are you?**

Tommy heard his daughter's mental cry and embraced her.

**We'll find him; have faith in your old man.**

** I hope so, Dad. I hate to think what Elsa's doing to him.**

* * *

><p><strong>The End!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this eighth part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p>Green Thunder Part 1<p>

* * *

><p>Hayley yawned as she entered the main portion of her café from her office. A noise startled her. She grabbed a nearby music stand before tiptoeing gingerly closer to the source of the noise. Any sane person would run away, but nearly fifteen years of friendship, and five years of being in a relationship, with Rangers now had her going toward danger.<p>

She rounded the corner of her bar and screamed. Trent yelled and fell back.

"You! You're here!"

Hayley lowered her makeshift weapon in relief.

"Why?" Trent wondered.

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "You've seen that sign outside? The one that said Hayley's Cyberspace? Also, my boyfriend had an early morning meeting with someone from Aquitar."

Trent was confused.

Hayley shook her head. "Never mind." She noticed Trent's drawing. So far, he had a monkey in a space suit holding a ray gun standing in an airlock. She was impressed. Of course, this was the same young man that designed his own Power Ranger outfit without even knowing it. She wasn't surprised, but she was impressed. "You did this?"

Trent nodded. "Yeah. Must be doing something right."

Hayley flipped the page. His next drawing was full-color of a feline woman in a black skin-tight body suit with blue hair. "This is really good!"

Trent smiled shyly in response. "Thanks."

Hayley put walked around behind the bar. She turned on the café's lights. "So, here's the only question I have."

Trent began taking down stools. "What am I doing here at 7 in the morning instead of at home?"

Hayley nodded. "That would be the one."

Trent sighed. He settled another stool on the floor. "I came here to draw. My dad's not exactly supportive of my artistic endeavors. Not to mention, he can't know anything about me being a Ranger."

The redhead moved a tray of glasses to the sink behind the bar. "How do you know? About the drawing, I mean?"

I think his exact words were, 'Trent, I'm in no way supportive of your artistic endeavors.'"

"I see."

Trent sat down on a stool. "He doesn't think it'll get me anywhere."

"He'll come around. And as for all the secret Ranger stuff, well, according to Billy, eventually skirting the truth becomes almost second nature. You get used to it. You never like it but it becomes habit. Tommy's been lying to his mother since he was sixteen."

Trent raised his eyebrows. "Have you gotten used to it?"

Hayley thought for a moment. Really, the only people she conversed with on a regular basis were her parents and she just omitted anything Ranger-related. "In a way. I've been friends with Tommy and Kim for so long, it's sometimes difficult to forget people don't know. Most Rangers serve little more than a year at most. Tommy and Kim are the exceptions, rather than the rule. And your dad will come around with the drawing."

Trent nodded as he headed for the exit. "My dad's a great guy. But there are some things he won't budge on. My drawing is one of them."

* * *

><p>In his lab, Tommy worked on scraping away the dirt from a recent find. One of his colleagues dropped it off a few hours before. He tried to let them down gently, stating he had too much on his plate to take on any side projects, but they refused to listen. So, Tommy was left to unearth the fossil in what little free time remained to him.<p>

His computer still couldn't locate Kyle and he was hesitant to bring in outside help. Kim wanted to bring in Andros with the Megaship. She wanted DECA to scan Earth from orbit. She also wanted DECA to scan various alternate dimensions.

The longer Kyle remained missing, the more Kim worried. And Kim needed as little stress as possible.

Unknown to Kim, Tommy **had** been in touch with Andros but he and Zhane had their own problems. The Megaship simply couldn't be spared to look for one missing Ranger.

Dana and her team also had their hands full. Severe storms ravaged Mariner Bay the last few weeks. It was all the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers could do to control the damage and casualties.

Tommy started to chip away again. Theresa stormed down the stairs and stationed herself at the computer. His daughter typed for a while. She grunted in frustration several minutes later.

"If I was Hayley, I'd be worried about Billy talking so long with his ex. He still hasn't gotten off the interstellar channel!"

Tommy chuckled. "I'm sure they're talking business. Eltar's Rangers are touring Aquitar. As an ambassador, Billy has to ensure the Eltarans' visit goes smoothly. Who do you need to talk to anyway?"

Theresa checked the channel again. Billy was still on it. "I want to get in touch with Vincell."

Tommy's head shot up. "The Phantom Ranger? Whatever for?"

Theresa looked down as her feet played with the chair leg. "I thought he might have an idea on a way to search for Kyle. One we haven't thought of."

Tommy sighed and he set his tools down. He stood up, walked over to his daughter and sat down across from her. He put a hand on her knee.

Theresa let out a choked sob. "The longer he's gone, the less I feel him in my head!"

Tommy closed his eyes. "I know. I feel him less, as well."

His daughter flung herself into his arms. "I've never been alone in my head, not ever! Without Ky, I'm only one half of me!" Theresa continued to sob. Tommy rubbed her back, hoping to soothe her. Eventually, Theresa calmed down. She brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I probably look horrible right now," Theresa said as she sat back.

Tommy ran a hand through his daughter's shoulder-length hair. "It's okay." A thought snaked its way through his brain and Tommy let out a sarcastic laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Just thinking about how much my parents worried about me and they had no clue I was even a Ranger! Now, I'm the parent with the missing son. Karma sucks."

Theresa let out a small chuckle. "That it does."

Tommy squeezed her hand. "No calling Phantom, okay?"

Theresa nodded. Tommy kissed his daughter on the top of her head and returned to his work. Tommy brushed off a portion of bone. He glanced back. "You know your mom and I love you, right?"

The smile that was so much like her mother's lit up Theresa's face. "I know, Dad. I love you, too."

* * *

><p>Trent cautiously entered his dad's office. Anton lounged, reading a book. "You have a good day at school?"<p>

Trent shrugged. "It was alright." He wanted to tell his dad his boss' boyfriend conversed with aliens on a weekly basis. He wanted to discuss his latest drawing. But he could do neither.

"I trust you had time to think about our earlier conversation."

Trent walked further into Anton's office. "Is that what it was?"

"I'm assuming your referring to the fact that you weren't… happy with the outcome."

Trent leaned against the edge of Anton's desk. His dad's book lay open on his knee. "Just not crazy about you telling me not to draw anymore." Also, I'm a Power Ranger, but I can't talk about that. The whole 'keeping secrets' thing didn't sit well with Trent. He understood the intent behind it but he didn't like it.

Anton closed his book. "Trent, when your parents disappeared, you and I agreed that I would act as your father. And fathers are sometimes forced to make decisions…"

Mercer swayed in his chair. His skin grew clammy. He began to sweat. "For the children that the children don't care for."

Trent didn't see his father's problems. "Dad, I get that."

Mercer shivered. Trent noticed that time. "Dad? Are you okay?"

Mercer swallowed. "Yes, I'm fine." He slammed his book down, stood, and faced away from Trent. "As I was saying, I can only raise you the way I know how." Anton tugged on his tie, freeing his neck. "The way I see fit. All I expect from you, Son, that you abide by my rules, okay?"

Trent nodded in resignation. "That's fine."

"Now go," stated Mercer quietly. "I have work to finish."

"Yeah, me too." Trent exited only far enough to witness his dad voluntarily depart into an invisiportal.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Trent re-entered his dad's empty office. "Hello? What are you up to, Dad? What's goin' on around here?"<p>

The portal opened when Trent got too close. He stuck his hand out and vanished, only to reappear in some sort of laboratory.

"What is this place?"

His morpher activated at the same time as a portal and drones filled the lab. Trent jumped through the portal and returned to his dad's office. The White Ranger exited as quickly as possible. He had a feeling Dr. O might know what that freaky lab place was.

* * *

><p>The Ranger alarm beeped. Theresa brought the latest monster up on screen. "Uh, Dad? I think I might have something."<p>

Tommy rushed over to view the creature. He shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Kira, Ethan, and Conner were right behind him. Ethan peered at the video. "Guess we got here just in time."

Kira glanced at her teacher. "Any particular reason for this guy?"

Theresa turned to face her friend. "It's been my experience bad guys don't need reasons to make monsters."

Tommy squinted. "It's hard to tell. It seems like he's actually looking for someone."

"Well, it's not gonna like what it finds," stated Conner. "Come on, guys."

Tommy tapped his daughter on the shoulder. "Run up and grab your mom. Then call Trent and fill him in. You two can meet us downtown."

Theresa nodded and ran up the stairs. The three other teens morphed and soon were downtown. Tommy monitored the altercation until his wife and daughter returned to the basement.

"Trent's on his way. He's gonna stop by here first. Apparently, something happened this afternoon," Theresa called as she morphed and took off for downtown.

* * *

><p>Conner faced the monster down. "Is there something we can help you with?"<p>

It pointed at each of them in turn. "Red, blue, yellow, orange. No. I'm looking for something in a nice spring green."

Theresa gasped. Green? Could this monster also be searching for Kyle?

Kira put her hand on her hip and tilted her head in Conner's direction. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"I think he's looking for Kyle," the Orange Ranger responded. The four prepared to attack but the monster blasted them back. All four only managed to back handspring out of the way in time. Trent arrived on the scene. His superspeed attacks left the monster dizzy.

What happened next completely rocked Theresa's world. The Green Ranger flew down and destroyed the monster and flew away.

Conner held up his morpher as he talked to Tommy and Kim. "You guys saw that, right? You saw Kyle?"

In the lab, Kim grabbed Tommy's hand. "Yeah, but we're still trying to figure out where he came from. Ky just appeared out of nowhere…"

"And vanished just as quickly," Tommy finished.

"We'll try and follow him. Come on." Conner led his fellow Rangers in the direction Kyle disappeared. They stopped in a plaza.

Theresa shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see anything."

The Green Ranger stepped forward. The hairs on the back of Theresa's neck stood on end. "Look harder."

Kyle voice was somehow deeper, throatier. In her helmet, Theresa swallowed back bile. She had a sick feeling history was repeating itself. For all intents and purposes, the Green Ranger appeared the same as ever.

"Don't come any closer," the Green Ranger warned as Conner stepped forward. "You'll force me to do something I don't want to do."

Tommy and Kim could only watch in growing horror as the scene played out.

Conner glanced at Trent and then at Ethan and Kira. What was Kyle up to? "What do you mean? We're your friends!"

"I have no friends." The Green Ranger turned his helmet onto Theresa. "Or family." He snapped his fingers and his axe appeared in his hand. One handed, he slammed the axe into the ground. The earth grumbled and fractured. It was all the Rangers could do to avoid falling into the cracks. Trent and the others lost their balance. Conner glared through his helmet.

"Was that really necessary?"

The Green Ranger rested his axe on his shoulder. "That was just a warning." He waved his axe and launched himself into the sky.

Theresa watched her brother leave. Underneath the orange plastic of her helmet, tears streamed down her face. A thought not her own reverberated through her brain.

**Why does history repeat itself? What have we done to cause such misery?**

She couldn't tell if it was her mom or her dad, or even the odd thought from Billy. She didn't really care. She just wanted the past several days to be a horrible nightmare.

* * *

><p>Kim sat amidst her son's belongings in his room. His walls glowed a calming sea green, even in the moonlight. Posters of various athletes and movies dotted the walls. Kyle wasn't normally a messy kid but clothes littered his bedroom floor. His bed was unmade and hadn't been slept in in nearly a week. Various medals and trophies cluttered the top of his dresser. An empty plate sat on the nightstand.<p>

Kim's fingers fiddled with a small green and white blanket. Kyle's baby blanket. A gift from Trini's mom. The woman loved to knit and she created one for each of the twins.

The baby inside of her moved. She'd been feeling flutters all afternoon. Kim forced back the vomit threatening to come up.

Tommy found her several moments later.

"Hayley and Billy are analyzing Kyle's lifesigns from the confrontation earlier today."

Kim ignored him.

"Billy's current theory is that Mesogog did something to Kyle's gem, only it didn't turn out exactly how he wanted."

Kim continued to stare straight ahead. "I've supported you through everything. I helped you harness the power of the gems. Together we created Power Rangers. We couldn't let it go. Everyone else did. They served their time. They don't keep coming back for more."

Tommy didn't know what to say. He simply sat beside her on their son's bed. "You could've walked away. You had plenty of chances. You even broke up with me once."

Kim's laugh was humorless. "And yet, I came back. Gasket brainwashed you and I rescued you." She peered down at the blanket in her hands. "Do you think about that sometimes? About what would've happened if I hadn't shown up?"

Tommy blinked and processed the question. "Would I have been able to resist the mind control?"

Kim nodded.

Tommy shook his head and swallowed. "I'd like to think eventually, something would trigger a memory. But what damage would have been done in the meantime? I wasn't about to allow the Zeo Rangers to leave that arena. They would've been my first victims."

Kim shuddered. Tommy persisted. "I see them sometimes, in my nightmares. The people I killed when I was Rita's puppet."

That brought Kim's head up. "You never killed anyone!"

Tommy partially agreed with her. "I never attacked any particular civilian in cold blood but I did lead attacks on Angel Grove. People died in those attacks. Trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. I called Dragonzord and it wreaked havoc on everything and everyone in its path. I showed Angel Grove no mercy."

Kim took her husband's hand. "None of that is your fault, though. You didn't ask for Rita to brainwash you."

Tommy held up his hands. "That doesn't matter. These hands still caused untold amounts of destruction. I still have to live with the guilt, the memories. And so will Kyle, when we get him back. He won't be the same person. We have to prepare for that."

Kim blinked. "We have to get him back first."

Tommy wrapped an arm around the woman he loved. "We will. Not one person who's been evil stayed that way. Me, Karone, Eric, Ryan, we're all good now because our friends refused to give up on us. I refuse to allow my son to become the first to completely fall."

She turned her head and her eyes met his. "Then we won't fail. We'll get Kyle back."

Tommy squeezed his wife's shoulder and rested his head against hers. "That's my girl. I love you. I can't imagine what my life would've been like without you and the twins."

Kim smiled. "I love you, Handsome. Never doubt that for a second."

Tommy returned her smile. "You're stuck with me. For better or worse."

Kim hugged her husband. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

><p>Tommy and Kim returned to the basement when Hayley reported some results from the scans she ran on the Green Ranger.<p>

"Somehow, Mesogog managed to jumble the gem's powers into Kyle's DNA. It's all mixed together," the redhead informed a crowded basement.

"Are you working on a solution?" Kim wondered.

Billy shrugged. "If we can figure out a way to separate Kyle from the gem, we should have a solution."

Conner stared at the screen. "I'm assuming the tricky part is separating the two to begin with."

Hayley nodded. "Exactly. We don't even know where to begin. The way he is now, Kyle's not going to willingly part with his gem."

The alarm beeped. On screen, Kyle, in full morph, dropped down onto a plaza.

"You guys better get over there, make sure he doesn't go medieval on any civilians," Tommy ordered to Conner, Ethan, and Kira.

They turned to leave but Tommy stopped them. "Wait! Aim to render unconscious, not to destroy. That's still my son under that helmet."

The three nodded. They quickly morphed and met up with the Green Ranger at the plaza downtown. The Olivers, Billy, and Hayley watched on the monitors. Trent and Theresa stood ready.

"What about us, Dr. O?"

Tommy considered his options. He knew it would be extremely difficult for him and Theresa to fight Kyle. He was family and too evenly matched. This was the first time Tommy regretted allowing Jason to train the twins in martial arts.

"Trent, you go back up the others."

The White Ranger nodded and departed.

Tommy nodded at his daughter. "T, you back up Hayley and Billy." She nodded and joined the couple in another part of the lab. Tommy and Kim settled down to monitor the altercation.

On the screen, Conner pointed and clenched a fist at the Green Ranger. "Back so soon? I thought you made your point last time."

Green Ranger had his back to the trio of Rangers. He faced his former friends. "I've only just started. You want some more?"

The Rangers attacked. Kyle was too fast. He etched a K on their chests with his axe and kneeled at the Rangers' suits sparked and exploded.

"Too easy."

Several laser arrows from Trent's dagger knocked Green Ranger back. Green Ranger gasped. "Where'd you come from?"

Trent faced off with Green Ranger. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Conner climbed back to his feet. "What's the deal? We try to be nice, just extending a little Ranger love and this is what we get?"

"I've spent my entire life being nice. I'm not here to be friends."

"Then what is it?" Trent asked.

"What do you want?" Conner followed immediately.

Green Ranger tilted his helmet. "That isn't something you need to know. All that's important right now is that there's four Rangers too many and I'm here to change that."

Their quick conversation allowed Ethan and Kira time to recover.

"Go for it!" Conner yelled as he charged. The three fought Green Ranger but were quickly beaten. Amazingly, the only person to hold his own against the Green Ranger was Trent. He and Green traded blows and blocks until Green slammed Trent into the pavement.

"That should do for now."

Ethan stood and brought his weapon to bear. Green deflected the blast. Ethan growled. "Playtime's over!"

He pointed his blaster at the Green Ranger. He was surprised when Tommy showed up and wrestled the gun away from him.

"That's still my son in there!"

The morphed Black Ranger stared his son down. "We don't know what he's capable of. He's got powers we might not be able to deal with."

Green stood with one hand his hip, the other resting his axe against his shoulder.

"We don't want to hurt you, Ky."

"Kyle Oliver is dead," the Green Ranger sneered.

That pierced Tommy's heart. "Tell us why you're here," Tommy pleaded to his son.

The Green Ranger turned around. "Why am I here? Let's see. You couldn't keep your hands off my mother. Said mother refused to have an abortion. That's why I'm here. For right now, though, I just want to destroy you."

Underneath his mask, tears streamed down Tommy's face. He shook his head. He never knew Kyle could be so cruel. "What did Mesogog do to you?" Tommy cried.

"He did nothing more than free me. I am the real Kyle Oliver. I am no longer bound to obey you and all your rules and morals."

Ethan heard enough. "That does it!" He yelled and he and Kira attacked.

"Wait! No!" Tommy's pleas fell on deaf ears. Kyle easily deflected their blade attacks and slashed both of them across their chests. Kyle wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Both Rangers fell off the side of the building, landing in the parking lot below. Kyle followed them. Theresa reached her dad and they followed Kyle off the building.

"Have a nice flight?" The Green Ranger snickered. Ethan and Kira attempted to rise.

Ethan formed a fist. "He's gonna pay for that!" Both attacked again. Kyle's standing sidekick slammed Ethan into a parked car. Kira fared little better. Kyle tossed her beside Ethan.

"Pathetic. You're no match for me." Kyle turned on Tommy. "How 'bout you, Father? Care to find out if you can still cut it?"

Tommy shook his head. "I don't want to fight you, Kyle." He blocked a punch aimed at his head and retaliated with a punch to Kyle's midsection. "But I will if I have to."

Ethan and Kira summoned their weapons and assaulted Kyle. Or attempted to. Kyle, somehow, absorbed, their energies.

"It's too strong! I can't take it!" Kira moaned. A slice of Kyle's axe flipped them backward. Their morphs broke, leaving them powerless. Theresa ran over to her friends.

"Are you guys okay?"

Kira grimaced. "That wasn't what I had in mind."

"Looks like game over," Ethan moaned.

Kira glanced up. "Not yet."

Kyle faced off against Tommy. "Bring it, Pops."

Theresa gasped as their dad attacked with his staff. Kyle blocked and stole Tommy's energy as well. Kyle tossed his father aside and Tommy's morph failed as well. He grimaced and clutched his chest.

Theresa stood up, circling around until she put a good bit of distance between her and her friends.

"What about you, dearest sister? You've been remarkably absent from this fight."

"You and I are too evenly matched, Kyle. I could incinerate you just as you steal my power. Lose, lose."

"You wouldn't harm your own twin." Kyle was overconfident. She could use that.

"Wouldn't I?" Theresa unleashed a fireball. It slammed into the Green Ranger's chest and he screamed. Theresa tilted her head. Kyle's blood began to boil and his screams became louder, more agonized. He collapsed onto his knees.

"Theresa Trini Oliver! Stop this instant!" Her dad's command seeped into her brain and she blinked several times behind her helmet. Kyle stopped screaming. He glared at his sister even though she couldn't see it. She could feel his hatred. It overwhelmed her.

"Stay out of my way or be destroyed!" That said, Kyle vanished into the sky above.

Theresa demorphed and reluctantly joined the others. Somewhere along the way, Conner and Trent joined them.

Tommy crossed his arms. Theresa would be dead if her dad's eyes could kill.

"What the hell was that?"

She tried to recall the last several minutes. "I don't know! I just wanted him to hurt, like I was hurting! I didn't know I was capable of that!" She was hysterical and ran off sobbing. Tommy sighed.

**Tommy? **Kim's hesitant mind-voice echoed through his head. **Is it possible Kyle's evil is affecting Theresa?**

Tommy rubbed at tired eyes. Nothing was turning out the way it was supposed to. **I don't know, Beautiful. Anything's possible, you know that. I hate to think that any child of ours could knowingly boil someone else's blood.**

Tommy took in the state of his team. "Guys," he sighed, "we've got big trouble."

* * *

><p>They all sat on the steps leading up to the main computer. Ethan stared off into the distance. "It wasn't supposed to be this way." He turned to Tommy. "Was it?"<p>

Tommy snorted. "An evil Green Ranger? One who just happens to be the son of the last evil Green Ranger?" He shook his head.

"So what do we do?" Kira wondered to everyone, and no one in general.

"How are we supposed to fight him if we can't get near him?" Conner threw his hands up in defeat.

Trent remained silent. After a long pause, he spoke. "What did Theresa do to Kyle? I watched her throw a fireball at him and he began screaming."

Kim ran a hand over her tired face. "She, literally, boiled his blood."

Everyone, save for Tommy, Billy, and Hayley, stared at her in confusion. Kim inhaled deeply. "Theresa superheated Kyle's blood using her Dino power."

The former Ranger stood and paced. "Kyle and Theresa are extremely unique. They were the first children conceived and born to two active Earth Rangers. As twins, they share a powerful bond. At times, one has been able to influence the other emotionally."

The gears began to turn in Kira's head. "So you're saying what? Some of Kyle's evil Ranger spirit affected Theresa?"

Behind Kira, Billy nodded. "As such, Theresa craved revenge. She endeavored for Kyle to feel what she was feeling. She transferred her emotional turmoil into physical torture."

Conner was bewildered. "So she lost her cool for a second and nearly killed her own brother? I vote for not allowing Theresa anywhere near Kyle until we can help him."

Tommy hung his head. "I wish it were as simple as that, Conner."

* * *

><p>Kyle stumbled into an alley. He gasped as his morph broke. Pain. All he could recall was pain. Theresa! She caused the pain! Why? What had he done? He couldn't remember!<p>

His chest burned where his sister's fireball entered his body. He wiped sweat from his forehead. The last thing he remembered was Elsa's mocking laugh as he lost consciousness after something bit him.

He felt the back of his neck. No bite. That told him only that he'd been gone long enough for the bite to heal. With the Power, a bug bite typically healed after a day. Somehow, it felt longer to Kyle.

He cried out as the memories came back to him. Why him? Why had Mesogog chosen him?

* * *

><p>In her room, Samantha Googled Kyle Oliver, Theresa Oliver, Kimberly Hart-Oliver, and Doctor Tommy Oliver. She frowned at the information presented to her. No hospital was listed as to the twins' place of birth.<p>

She dug deeper. She couldn't design computers and know their hardware but she could hack with the best of them. No hospital in Angel Grove recorded an Oliver around the date of the twins' birth.

Samantha did note that Kimberly Hart spent several days in a hospital following a fall off a balance beam when she was seventeen. But the dates didn't match up. Kimberly would've already been in Florida when she discovered her pregnancy.

More information was available on Doctor Oliver than Kimberly and the twins. He was born on the Native American reservation outside Angel Grove. He had an older brother. His parents died in a house fire when he was six months old. Janice and Thomas Oliver adopted him and the new family moved to Phoenix.

Doctor Oliver and his parents moved back to Angel Grove while Oliver was in high school. From yearbooks and news clippings, Oliver hung out with five other students in particular, including the future Mrs. Oliver. From what she read, the six teenagers were model citizens. They spoke out against crime, pollution, drugs, etc. Three of them were even selected to a peace conference in Geneva. Three new kids from Stone Canyon joined the group.

Sam set a picture of Scott, Tran, Taylor, Hart, Cranston, and Oliver beside a promotional picture of the original five Power Rangers with the Green Ranger. All six were morphed. To the other side of the Rangers Sam moved a photo of the new six where DeSantos, Park, and Campbell replaced Scott, Tran, and Taylor. Scott, Tran, and Taylor all wore the same colors: red, yellow, and black. So did their replacements. Kim wore pink a whole lot. Oliver liked green clothes for nearly a year until he switched almost exclusively to white.

From green to white. Oliver appeared to be a serial monogamist when it came to clothing.

A news article reported on the local gymnast chosen to train with a famous coach for the Pan Global Games. An Australian blonde replaced Kimberly in the group photos. Campbell vanished, only to be replaced with another African-American girl, Tanya Sloan

Billy Cranston completely disappeared off the face of the Earth after graduating early from high school. He reappeared several years later, only to spend several months a year in complete seclusion. That was odd. What was odder was that Cranston never held a job.

Oliver and his new friends graduated from high school. Before they did, Oliver, DeSantos, and Park all changed clothing colors again. Oliver began wearing red, DeSantos preferred blue and Park seemed to take an interest in green. Hart returned to Angel Grove six months pregnant. Two months later, the twins magically appeared. Afterward, they all went their separate ways, though Scott and a few others followed the Olivers to Boston. From MIT enrollment records, Oliver and Hart waited a year after high school. More news clippings showed Oliver getting into auto racing, winning several races and pocketing a nice purse. Both graduated from MIT in four years. Oliver continued his education, earning is Masters and doctorate. Somewhere in there, Oliver and Hart married. Sam recalled Kyle talking about it.

Oliver spent six months on an island in the Pacific, just off the coast of Reefside, California. He was listed as one of two survivors after the island exploded and sank into the ocean. The only other survivor was Anton Mercer, Oliver's boss.

The rest of the family lived quietly in Angel Grove during that time. They moved to Blue Bay Harbor for one year then moved to Reefside.

On her monitor, Sam gathered into one album all the photos she collected. Five at first, then six for two and half years, before going back down to five, back up to six when Scott returned to Angel Grove for senior year, then back down to five at graduation. Scott disappeared before graduation and reappeared in New York City almost two months later. Scott later moved to Boston while the Olivers attended MIT.

While in high school, the groups of teens always wore the same colors until a new color desire popped up. Could these groups of teens from the 1990's have been Earth's first Power Rangers? If so, that meant Doctor Oliver had been a Ranger on three separate occasions.

Sam pulled up the photos from Kim's gym website. She focused on Kyle. Was it her imagination or did he wear an inordinate amount of green? Why? From the few photos she gleaned during the family's time in Blue Bay, Kyle didn't have a color preference. That only started occurring after they moved to Reefside. How peculiar.

* * *

><p>Theresa sat on a park bench. She fiddled with her gem bracelet. What had she done? It wasn't very clear. She felt something cold, dark, menacing take over her…Kyle's tortured screams made her blood run cold. Was she really capable of such horrendous methods? Or did whatever turned Kyle also infect her, for the briefest moment?<p>

If so, she was a danger to the other Rangers. She couldn't be trusted. Not until they freed Kyle.

It was well after midnight when she snuck into the darkened lab. Theresa sobbed as she removed her gem bracelet from her wrist. She placed it gently on the desk in front of the monitors, along with a letter to her parents.

As her parents slept fitfully, Theresa Oliver packed a bag and departed Reefside for Blue Bay.

* * *

><p>TBC!<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this latest part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p>Green Thunder Part 2<p>

* * *

><p>Tommy read and re-read his daughter's letter.<p>

_ Dear Mom and Dad,_

_ I am beyond sorry for what happened earlier today. Clearly, I had no control over my actions. I didn't mean for things to go so far. By the time you read this, I will be in Blue Bay. I can't be in Reefside right now. I'm too much of a liability to the team._

_ I am staying with Tori at the academy. I'm hoping Sensei will be able to aid me in controlling my mind and emotions. Kira will help me with schoolwork and keep me apprised of what goes down in Reefside. _

_ I love you both so much. It tears me apart to leave but I don't trust myself if I stayed. Today was evidence enough. I'll call when I'm able. Please don't call me before I'm ready._

_ All my love,_

_ Theresa_

He fiddled with the Orange Ranger's bracelet. A lone tear fell down onto the gem. His family was falling apart. Tommy wiped his face. Beside him, Kim clutched his hand.

"She really left? In the middle of the night?"

He could only nod. He barely trusted his voice not to break. "She knew we'd have stopped her if she waited."

"Darn right! I would lock her in her room until Christmas!"

Tommy chuckled humorlessly. "I doubt that would solve anything."

Kimberly grumbled. "I'd feel better. I'd know where my daughter was. We'd at least have some semblance of a family left."

He planted a kiss on her forehead. "Billy and Hayley are working on a way to save Kyle. We just have to be patient."

Kim stood up and paced. She looked slightly silly with her enlarged belly. "I'm not good at patience! I want my kids back!"

He held her close. "I do, too."

* * *

><p>Kyle held out his hand. Electricity crackled between him and the egg in front of him.<p>

"This energy transfer should activate the dinozord egg."

He lowered his hand. The egg pulsed.

"Soon, you'll be ready for your debut."

He picked up his egg.

"When this hatches, there will only be one color left in the rainbow."

* * *

><p>Cassidy stormed out of the café. She didn't even notice she hit Trent with the door.<p>

"Aah!" The White Ranger rubbed his wrist where his bracelet banged into the wall. It beeped sadly. "What's going on with this thing?"

In the café, Hayley met up with Ethan and Kira. "Hey, have you guys seen Trent or Theresa? I'm a little worried. He hasn't shown up and she was supposed to be helping Billy and I with Kyle's gem separation."

Kira sighed. Apparently, Hayley was slightly out of the loop. "Theresa took off for Blue Bay last night. She's staying with her friend Tori until she gets her head on straight."

Hayley blinked. "Theresa ran away? That doesn't sound like her."

"She almost killed her own brother. If I did that, I'd want my head examined," Kira replied.

"And Tommy and Kim were okay with her going?"

Kira shook her head. "They didn't know until this morning. She left a letter and her gem."

Hayley grimaced. "What about Trent? He's never-"

"Ahem."

"-Late."

Hayley turned to face her tardy employee.

"Sorry about that. Dr. O had me over early so he could train me."

Kira peered over Hayley's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, man. I mean, you look like you've just seen Grippleshank."

Trent's brow knotted in confusion at the Blue Ranger. "Who?"

"From Black Night's Castle? Just came in last week," Ethan explained to the computer game illiterate. "Grippleshank is this massive dude with, like, black eyes and yellow teeth. He spits this toxic stuff that dissolves you if you look at him."

Trent nodded, despite not understanding what Ethan was talking about. "Okay…I'll watch out for him. But back on Planet Reality, I got a lot of work to do."

Hayley looked at him sideways. "Mm-hmm." She watched Trent depart for another part of the café. "You know, technically, if he'd seen Grippleshank, he wouldn't be here to tell you about it."

She left the teens alone at the bar. Kira swatted her friend's arm. "Hey, don't worry about it. That's why her name's on the wall."

Ethan conceded the point. "So, Theresa really just took off in the middle of the night?"

Kira nodded. "Yup. Left a note for her parents and her gem. She's hoping her friends' sensei will aid her in controlling her power."

Ethan shuddered. "I hope it works. She was scarier than Kyle. And he's evil!"

Their gems beeped, interrupting their conversation. Kira rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me he's back! I'm still picking gravel out of my hair from last time."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Ethan relied as he and Kira exited the café.

* * *

><p>The pair rushed down Dr. O's basement steps. He and Kim were already at their typical places in front of the computer. Conner was with them.<p>

"Hey, Dr. O, came as soon as we got the message," Ethan panted as he and Kira joined them by the computer.

Conner pointed at something on screen. "You guys have gotta see this."

Kira shot a glance toward Kim. "Please tell me you know where the Green Ranger is."

Tommy shook his head.

"Not quite. But look at this," stated Kim. She manipulated the mouse to focus in on a red, black, and white dinozord egg.

Ethan's eyes widened. "It looks like it's ready to pop!"

"It is," Tommy replied.

Conner noticed something else. "Whoa! What about that one?"

Kim zoomed in on another zord egg.

"Dinozord eggs all over the place," Kira muttered.

"Hey, you think this was what Easter was like millions of years ago?"

Conner rolled his eyes at his blue-clothed friend. "How does he come up with this stuff?"

Kim pointed at the Red and Yellow Rangers. "Kira, Conner, you two head to the warehouse. Ethan, you and Tommy head to the docks. You two can discuss Ethan's dino Easter theory."

Kim remained in the lab as all four headed off. She patted her extended stomach. "At least you can't run off on me."

The baby kicked in response.

* * *

><p>Kyle walked down an alley, completely lost in thought. He didn't look good. Dark circles under his eyes indicated his lack of sleep. His dreams, when he did sleep, were haunted by attacks on his friends, sister, and father.<p>

He nearly got run over by rushing kids. They were pursued by Cassidy and Devin.

"I want my money or a tape of the Green Ranger!"

The group disappeared quickly. Which was good, since his head suddenly felt like it exploded. He fell onto all fours and groaned in agony. He rolled over onto his back, already in full morph. He couldn't control whatever Mesogog infected into his gem. The evil took over.

* * *

><p>Conner held out the scanner. "This makes no sense."<p>

Kira stopped. "Are you getting anything?"

He held up the scanner in frustration. "I don't even know how to read this thing. Why didn't Kim give Ethan geek duty?"

Kira held out her hand. "Here. Let me see that."

He handed over the scanner. She waved it in various directions. It began beeping steadily when she aimed the scanner in a particular direction. She pointed. "It's coming from over here."

They jogged off in the direction indicated. They stopped at a tunnel entrance.

"Why does it always have to be a creepy abandoned place?" She muttered.

He agreed. "Let's just get it and get out of here."

They followed the tunnel deep underground. Before they turned a corner, they noticed yellow lightning playing off the concrete walls.

"At least we know it's not abandoned," she muttered to him.

The Green Ranger came into view, feeding the dinozord energy from its morpher.

"Uh, terrific," moaned Conner.

They backed around the corner.

"You wanna try talking to him?" Kira asked.

"How 'bout we just morph, kick his ass, and take his egg, instead?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I like that better."

They emerged from their hiding spot.

"Hey!"

The Green Ranger barely glanced at them. "I don't have time to play, Rangers. I'm busy."

Green Ranger lowered his hand. The electricity stopped. He raised his axe and bolts flew toward them.

"We're not here to play!" Conner groaned. He and Kira returned to their feet.

"Oh, really?"

The pair morphed. Kira nodded her helmet. "Oh, yeah!"

They rushed but Kyle was faster. He landed several axe strikes and kicked them both down the corridor.

"Best two out of three?" Kyle taunted his former friends.

"Okay, this is getting old," Kira groaned. Getting her butt kicked on a daily basis was beginning to wear on her.

"No doubt."

* * *

><p>Hayley inhaled and shared a look with Kim. Mesogog sent a monster already full grown to skyscraper size.<p>

"What? Is he skipping normal size all together now?" Kim grumbled as she watched the Angor monster tear through downtown.

Hayley activated communications but said nothing. "Guys, you've got bad news coming your way."

Kira glanced around the crumbling building. "Worse than this?"

Conner growled, "Oh man, that's all we need!"

Kyle slashed Conner into a bunch of empty boxes. Another axe blow landed Kira beside him.

"Are you okay?" Conner wondered of his teammate.

"Just great!"

The Green Ranger stood over them. "This isn't even a challenge. Take a hike before you really get hurt."

"Not a chance!" Conner placed a hand on Kira's shoulder. "We're not leaving without that egg!"

Kyle considered this. "We can stay here and fight but I thought you'd want to save the city."

Kira turned her helmet to face Conner's. "I hate to admit it, really I do, but he's got a point."

Conner stood. "We'll deal with him later. Let's go."

Kira followed. "Right."

Kyle watched them go. "Good answer, Rangers. Leave me and my egg alone."

He glanced at the pulsing egg. "Not long now. Too bad Lil Sis left town. She's missing all the fun."

* * *

><p>Tommy stopped his Jeep by the refinery on the docks.<p>

"I'm getting some curiously strong readings, Dr. O."

"Let's get out and search on foot."

Ethan scanned again once both got out of the car. "That egg has to be around here somewhere." He pointed the scanner in another direction. "This thing's going nuts!"

The refinery's alarm went off and workers fled for their lives.

"Oh no, that doesn't sound good," Tommy groaned. He stopped one of the fleeing workers. "Are you alright?"

The man pointed. "T-there's a giant…thing! I don't know what it is! But it's comin' this way!"

"Thanks," Tommy told the worker. "Come on," was directed at Ethan.

The pair made their way along the rocks outside the refinery. They stopped between warehouses as the new dinozord stomped everything in its path.

"Looks like we got here just in time," Tommy told Ethan.

"Now what?"

Tommy's morpher beeped. Kim's voice came through loud and clear. "This one's all yours, Handsome."

The Black Ranger smiled. "Good timing as ever, Beautiful." His gem bracelet transformed into his morpher. The new dinozord's head replaced the brachio's head.

Ethan glanced between his gem and Tommy's morpher. "How come mine doesn't do that?" He asked, indignant.

"It's the parasaur zord."

Hayley took over for Kim. "Sometimes, you just need a little something extra."

Ethan smiled. "I hear that."

Tommy gazed up at the green dinozord. "Easy, fella."

Kim couldn't help herself. "Is that what you said when you flipped the Tigerzord its first time out?"

Tommy closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm never going to live that one down, am I?"

Kim cackled. "Nope!"

"At least I figured out quickly how to use my Megazords. How long did it take you guys to figure out your first Megazord had a battle mode?" Tommy flung that back at his wife.

Kim groaned. "We could spend all day trading insults but you need to tame that zord."

Kira and Conner ran up to them. "There they are!"

Conner reported their situation. "We found that egg. Only problem is, so did Kyle. He's trying to hatch it!"

Tommy grimaced. The last thing he needed was Kyle evil **and **with a zord. He was gladder than ever he and Kim transferred Kyle's zord controls to Trent. Trent now controlled the Mastodon zord.

He and Ethan morphed as Kim called for the zords. Tommy stayed by the refinery to tame the new zord while the others dealt with Angor.

Tommy brought his morpher up. "Hang in there, guys! I'll check out Kyle!"

* * *

><p>Kyle poured more electricity into the egg. "It's almost time. You will soon be mine!" Kyle's evil laugh was almost as bone chilling as his dad's.<p>

Tommy saw the tunnel entrance and headed towards it. He was stopped by a blast of electricity and landed face down. Zeltrax calmly walked toward him.

"You're not going anywhere, Black Ranger."

"Zeltrax!" Tommy stood.

"What an unexpected pleasure."

Tommy pulled his weapon. "Brachio Staff!" He and Zeltrax faced off. "We gotta stop meeting like this."

The duo fought and this time, Tommy had the advantage. He sent an energy orb from his staff. It engulfed Zeltrax. The cyborg fell on his face.

"Come on, Zeltrax! Give it up!"

"You will never defeat me!" The cyborg growled and attacked again. They re-engaged, trading sword blows and kicks. Tommy flipped Zeltrax and flung him into a group of barrels.

"All right, now, are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

Zeltrax growled again. He disappeared into a portal. Tommy sped down the stairs as fast as he was able. He had to reach that egg before it hatched! He turned a corner.

"Oh, no!"

He watched the shadow play on the concrete wall. The egg hatched. The zord grew. Tommy fled before the warehouse caved in on him. Once outside, Tommy stood in awe.

"I don't believe it! Dragozord!"

The Green Ranger flew up and landed on Dragozord's beak. "Hello again, Rangers."

"Oh, no." Tommy moaned again from the ground.

Kyle motioned to his new zord. "Well? What do you think? If you're gonna wear the suit, you gotta have the zord, right?" Kyle glowered down at his father. "Isn't that how this goes?"

The Green Ranger stood, turning his attention back to the Megazord. "What? Don't look so shocked. Now, let's see what this bird can do. Dragozord, activate." Kyle glanced at his opponents. "Let's do it!"

* * *

><p>TBC<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this latest part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p>Green Thunder Part 3<p>

* * *

><p>Theresa breathed. Slowly. She exhaled. Slowly. She repeated this pattern for sixty minutes. Her flat palms rested on her thighs. Her eyes remained closed even after her minute of silent meditation was up.<p>

"Good job, Theresa. You controlled your power for a whole minute."

Praise from Sensei Watanabe was rare.

"Thank you, Sensei. I can control my power. If I sit still and breathe. Not a productive battle technique, though."

Sensei traced patterns in the sand with his staff. For some reason, Theresa felt most at peace in the rock garden.

"Considering your emotional state when you arrived here two days ago, control over your power for a minute while sitting still is an accomplishment."

Theresa remembered. Sensei and Cam kept her by the waterfall entrance for nearly six hours. Her entire arms would flare up in flames whenever she recalled recent events in Reefside. They didn't want to risk her setting the buildings ablaze. Not that she could blame them.

"Have you ever wondered why the various ninja academies never have a fire element, Theresa?"

It never actually occurred to her, no. But there was logic once she considered the question.

"Fire is so difficult to control. And it's often associated with rage and anger. Ninjas are all about control. Over their bodies, their minds, their emotions."

Theresa recalled what she pledged to Ninjor over a year ago. "I am pure of heart, mind, body, and spirit. Strength of the soul. That's part of the Ninjetti pledge."

Sensei nodded. "You are correct. Neither you nor your brother have attempted to call on your spirit animals lately, have you?"

Theresa shrugged. "With Kyle evil right now, its always easier to go straight to full Dino Thunder morph."

Sensei traced another pattern in the sand. "You need to be pure of all before the fox will join you again."

Theresa gazed out at the training ninja students. By a grove of trees, Shane instructed a cluster of air ninjas on aerial attacks.

"They turned into good teachers."

Sensei watched his former Red Ranger. "They have indeed. And to think, a year ago, I questioned their dedication to their training."

"People still have the ability to surprise. I thought Conner would make an awful Red Ranger. That he wasn't capable of being a good leader."

Sensei erased his patterns and started again. "And now?"

"Conner's really stepped up. He can make good and bad decisions but he also knows when to defer to my parents or Hayley or Billy."

Sensei agreed. "Part of being a good leader is knowing when to follow."

The gong rang for midday meal. Shane dismissed his students and joined Sensei and Theresa in the rock garden. They walked up to the main hall for lunch.

"Hey, T. How's training going?"

Theresa smiled. "I haven't burned anything down today or boiled anyone's blood. It's a good day."

Shane laughed. "You consider it a good day when you don't almost kill someone?"

Theresa considered this as she filled a bowl with salad. "I consider it a good day when I don't want to boil someone's blood."

* * *

><p>Kyle stood on his zord's beak. "Dragozord, show these fools what you can do."<p>

He leapt from the zord onto a rooftop. Kyle laughed. This was too entertaining. Dragozord flapped its massive wings. Debris was sent flying at the Megazord.

"No!" Tommy yelled. He was still on the ground. He had no way to help his students.

"Hey, no need to get crazy." Conner stated as he attempted to keep the Megazord on its feet.

The Dragozord lifted off. It attacked the Megazord.

"They need help!" Tommy bemoaned his lack of ability to support the Megazord. Trent could control the Mastodon but that was just a single zord. None of the extra zords could combine with the Mastodon alone. Theresa couldn't handle piloting a Megazord on her own. Trent would have no shot. But he had to try something!

"Stegozord, activate!" His morpher's head changed. The Stegozord emerged from his Brachiozord.

Kyle watched from his rooftop. "I was hoping you'd do that."

He waved his axe like a baton. A tendril of light emerged from the axe and attached itself to the Stegozord. "Stegozord, you are now under my command."

Kyle jumped into the Dragozord's cockpit. "Dino-Stegozord formation."

Tommy watched, completely helpless. "Oh, not good."

The Dragozord and Stegozord combined to form a formidable Megazord.

"Not bad for the second generation, huh?"

Tommy continued to stare. "Man, now he's got his own Megazord!"

Back in the lab, Kim's eyes widened. "Your son is a lot better at being evil than you were."

Tommy forlornly agreed. "That's worrisome."

Kyle's Megazord attacked. Ethan's Tricerafist slammed into Kyle's Megazord. Conner replaced the parasaur with his Tyrannotail. Kyle's stinger intercepted the Thundersaurus.

"Oh no!"

The Thundersaurus broke apart and all three Rangers were ejected from their zords. Tommy rushed over to where his students landed. "Kira, Conner, Ethan, are you guys all right?"

"Yeah, but our zords are seriously tweaked," Conner replied.

Tommy stood and held up a clenched fist. "That was just low."

"Since when do they have bad Power Rangers?" Ethan wondered.

Kimberly felt obliged to answer. "Since Rita Repulsa saw your teacher spar and decided he'd make a great evil Green Ranger. That's when."

In his cockpit, Kyle held up his axe. "Now, I'll take the rest of your zords."

"Not gonna happen," Tommy vowed. He pressed several buttons on his morpher.

"What are you doing?" Kira wondered.

"Trying to break the Stegozord hold."

The Stego's eyes glowed and its head appeared on Tommy's morpher. Up several dozen stories, the Stegozord attempted to disconnect from Kyle's Megazord. The Stegozord loped away.

"You'll pay for that." Kyle stated from his cockpit. The Dragozord flew away.

"Good save, Dr. O!" Ethan congratulated his teacher.

"I doubt it will last. Kyle's power over the Stegozord is too strong. He knows too much about how the zords operate."

* * *

><p>In another part of town, Kyle flipped out of the Dragozord. He landed gracefully and looked around. He moaned as his morph began to fail him. He never noticed Devin behind him.<p>

Devin was beyond shocked. Kyle Oliver was the Green Ranger? Really? "It's-it's-you're the Green Ranger!" Devin almost had his camera ready. He stood too quickly and hit his head against a low-hanging pipe. Devin fell to the ground unconscious. Kyle stumbled down the alley. He never noticed Devin was even there.

* * *

><p>The teens moaned and groaned all the way back to the lab. It didn't stop once inside.<p>

"That was, like, the worst day ever." Conner glanced at his teammates.

"Brutal," agreed Ethan.

"There's gonna be a lot of days like this, guys." Tommy stated as he maneuvered his way to the computer where Kim sat with Hayley.

"Uh, whatever happened to the glass is half full?" Kira questioned.

Tommy sighed. He could only imagine this was how Kim and the others felt after battles with him.

"Sometimes, it's not." Kim informed them. Her husband nodded in agreement. How many times did events feel so out of control as teenagers? And yet, in every instance, they persevered.

"Sometimes, it's empty. But that's when you gotta dig deep. That's when the qualities that made you guys Rangers become most important." Tommy agreed with everything his wife said.

Conner's head came up. "You're right. What can we do?"

"Go have a little fun," Tommy suggested. Both he and Kim knew when they need to let off steam. "Ethan, isn't there a new video game you want to check out?"

Kim stood. Her unborn baby shifted in her belly. "What my husband his trying to say is you need to work off your frustrations. Blow off steam. You can't defeat Kyle right now. Not until Hayley and Billy come up with a way to separate Kyle from his gem."

Tommy pointed his head in the direction of the stairs. "Go on. Teacher's orders."

No one moved.

"Go!" He yelled. The teens reluctantly departed. Tommy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Was it him or was sleep becoming harder to come by? Especially when he needed it now more than ever? He said to the empty air, "Enjoy yourselves now. 'Cause this is only gonna get worse."

He turned to face Hayley. "Anything new?"

The redhead shrugged her shoulders. "We know something's infecting Kyle's gem. When we discover what that is, we can figure out a way to safely remove it."

The Black Ranger sank heavily into a chair. Kim walked over and stroked his head. "I miss your hair."

Tommy smiled at the love of his life. "Long hair didn't exactly fit the scientist profile." He stared off into the distance. "If only it was as simple as destroying a sword this time around."

Hayley titled her head. "Jason still had to fight you and somehow remove that sword from your possession. That couldn't have been easy."

Kim closed her eyes. Tommy's days as the evil Green Ranger weren't fond memories. "It wasn't, of course. Jason and Tommy have always been too evenly matched. Neither one was the type to give up." She shuddered. Tommy could've easily beaten Jason that day in the quarry.

"What if we destroy Kyle's morpher?"

Hayley liked Kim's suggestion but saw its flaw. "We run the risk of releasing the contaminant. It might go in search of the closest viable host."

Kim surmised, "Another Ranger?"

Hayley nodded. "Exactly. We need to discover the what before we can do anything about it."

* * *

><p>Samantha was certain she knew the Oliver family secret. They were Power Rangers. If her theory was correct, Kyle's parents were Rangers before the twins were born. If she went by clothing color, Kim had been the first Pink Ranger. She could also assume Oliver had worn a multitude of uniforms, including the original Green and White costumes.<p>

She was fairly certain he'd been the Red Zeo Ranger. She couldn't be certain about the Turbo powers and the Olivers long since departed for Boston when the Astro Rangers revealed themselves.

Absences by both Oliver children weren't going unnoticed in school. Doctor Oliver was going to have to answer some uncomfortable questions unless at least one returned.

Samantha wasn't sure what to do. Did she confront Doctor Oliver with what she knew? Or believed she knew? She'd look pretty stupid if he laughed in her face.

She decided to hold onto the info until a time it came in handy. It wouldn't do to show her hand too soon.

* * *

><p>Hayley left for her café when her boyfriend arrived in the Olivers' basement lab. She had only been in the café for a few minutes when Cassidy Cornell entered. And the usually pristine blonde looked as if she swam in a dumpster.<p>

"Whoa. Are you okay, Cassidy? Were you there when they attack happened?"

Cassidy groaned. "Look at me! It was awful! They attacked me from all sides! They're monsters, all of them!"

"You're lucky to be alive. Half the city looks like a tornado hit it." Which wasn't far from the truth, actually.

Cassidy wrinkled her brow. "You mean there were others?"

Hayley nodded. "Yeah. No one got hurt, thankfully."

The reporter nodded. "That's good. Somebody should call their parents. Or they should be grounded."

Hayley wondered what Cassidy was talking about. "Okay…that's a thought. Do you want a drink or something?"

"Yes! An extra tall soy latte. And don't skimp on the foam."

"Ugh." Hayley turned to make Cassidy's drink. There were times she wished she had a selective service policy. Ground monsters? Monsters didn't have parents. What **was** Cassidy talking about?

* * *

><p>Conner finished playing soccer. He was on his way home when he spotted Kyle. He followed the unmorphed Green Ranger to an abandoned quarry outside of town. Kyle was just fast enough to ditch the Red Ranger.<p>

"Kyle!" Conner turned around, searching for his former friend. "I know he went this way."

The now-morphed Green Ranger flew through the air and launched Conner off the edge of the quarry. Conner just managed to morph on the way down. Or he would've had a lot of broken bones. He rolled his eyes inside his helmet.

"Oh, great! It's you again!"

The Green Ranger landed and faced Conner. "Tell you what. This time I'll give you a sporting chance."

Kyle unclipped his axe from his belt and flung it away.

"You're going down!" Conner assumed a fighting stance.

Kyle cockily placed a hand on his hip. "Oh really? You do remember I've been trained by several former Rangers?" Kyle attacked. They traded several blows until Conner fell onto his back.

"Looks like it's you that's down." Kyle resumed his casual stance. Defeating the Rangers time and again never got old. He was having too much fun.

Conner stood. "That's it!" He aimed his blaster at Kyle.

Kyle sneered, "Can't fight without a weapon, huh?"

"All right." Conner flung the blaster aside. "Why do we have to fight at all? We're both Rangers. We fought side by side for months!"

Kyle shrugged. "You're good. I'm evil. It's a pretty simple concept." He attacked Conner with a powerful punch that sent the soccer star flying back several feet. Again, he landed on his back.

* * *

><p>Tommy and Kimberly worked on Kyle's gem problem. Billy tested theories at his workstation. That was the scene when Kira returned to the lab several hours later.<p>

"Hi."

"Kira," Tommy responded, slightly shocked. He really hadn't expected any of the teens to return.

"That whole kid-fun thing? Kinda tough when the fate of the world is hanging in the balance."

Kim nodded in agreement. "The entire time Tommy was evil, I don't think I even sniffed the balance beam at the Youth Center."

Tommy huffed. "I'm sitting right here, you know."

Kim ignored him. "Most of the time he was evil, we spent in the Command Center trying to repair the damage he caused."

Kira raised an eyebrow at her teacher. "You destroyed their Command Center?"

Tommy snorted. "Thanks for involving me in this conversation. Yes. A couple of times. The longer they went without Zordon, the easier prey they'd be. It was only after connection with the interdimensional being was reestablished did the Rangers learn how to defeat me."

Billy glanced up from his station, curious. "Who, among the five of us, did you perceive as the most threatening to Rita's plans?"

Tommy knew where his longtime friend was going with the question. It was an often-discussed topic. "Jason, obviously. He was the strongest fighter. He was the leader. If I knew you better at the time, I'd have taken you out first."

Kira's gaze traveled between Billy and Tommy and Kim. "Why was Billy such a threat?"

The former Blue Ranger stared Kira down. "Who do you believe repaired the Command Center and reestablished connection with Zordon?"

Kira got it. "You."

Kim snorted. "Trini helped. Zack, Jason, and I all stood around, completely helpless."

"Didn't you guys start to feel restless?"

Kim nodded, "Sure we did. I returned to the Youth Center and confronted Tommy. Not the smartest thing I ever did."

Tommy smiled at his wife. "You were brave though." He returned his attention to Kira. "She informed me she knew I was the Green Ranger. I scared her, my eyes flashed and I stormed off."

Kim patted her husband's shoulder. "You didn't scare me."

Tommy shook his head in disbelief. "You jumped a mile into the air when I slammed the weights down."

"You startled me more than anything."

"And when my eyes flashed? Don't tell me that didn't scare you."

Kim considered this. "Freaked me out more than anything. Whose eyes change color like that?"

Billy's eyes traveled between the couple. "I believe this conversation has altered course somewhat."

Kira snorted. "You're telling me."

Tommy watched Ethan come up behind Kira. "Should've known you guys were gonna have a tough time."

Ethan glanced around. "She's not the only one."

The Ranger alarm sounded. A new and improved Angor appeared on screen already zord size. Kim pointed. "I knew it! Mesogog's completely ignoring normal size now!"

"Maybe he grew tired of us blowing them up, only to watch them grow and get blown up again," Ethan commented.

"I only hope Conner isn't having too much fun," Tommy muttered. "I'd hate to interrupt it."

The alarm blared again. Conner's helmet came up on screen. "Hey, Dr. O, I'm in trouble here!"

"Hang on, Conner. We're sending you some backup," Tommy advised. On the screen, the Green Ranger narrowly missed stomping on Conner.

"I'm on it," Ethan stated.

Kim already had a call out for Trent to meet up with Tommy and Kira fighting the monster. Billy took over for the Black Ranger on monitor duty. Kim shot a worried look at her longtime friend.

"How much you wanna bet Mesogog planned on dividing the Rangers?"

Billy caught her eye. "Why would I bet when I know you're correct?"

* * *

><p>Tommy and Kira met up with Trent downtown.<p>

Trent peered up at the giant monster. "Didn't we already destroy this guy?"

"One rule I learned early, dead monsters tend not to stay dead," Tommy replied. He pressed several buttons on his morpher. "Auxiliary zords online!"

Trent called for the Mastodon. The zords launched an all-out assault on the enormous monster.

* * *

><p>Kyle calmly bent Conner's wrist back. He landed several punches to the Red Ranger's midsection and swept Conner's feet out from under him.<p>

Kyle waved his axe. "Look what I found."

Conner rolled away from the evil Ranger. "You're out of your mind!"

Kyle waved his weapon. "Now, now, let's not judge. Especially since I have the axe." He slashed Conner several times across the chest. "This is getting old. Let's finish this once and for all." He slashed Conner several more times. Conner barely managed to roll away. The Green Ranger changed weapon mode.

"It also comes as a handy laser." He fired at Conner point blank. "Later, Boo."

Conner fell to the ground, defeated. Kyle's laser was too much. He groaned as the area around him burned. Kyle shook his helmet.

"Don't even bother. It's over."

From somewhere deep within, Conner found a reserve of strength. He stood. "It is so not over!" The diamonds on Conner's uniform transformed into deadly spikes. "Dino power!" He attacked the Green Ranger.

"Stay back," Kyle warned, to no avail. The Green Ranger fired his laser pistol. The shot just rebounded off Conner's chest. The soccer star leapt and attacked. Kyle fell in a heap by his axe.

Conner examined his uniform in amazement. "Whoa! Looks like I tapped into a whole new level of power!"

In the basement, Billy caught Kim's eye. "Did you know the suits could do that?"

Kim gulped. "We're in uncharted waters now. Tommy only started charting the gems' abilities when this all began."

Back in the quarry, Kyle stood up. "You beat me at my own game. Congratulations. Looks like you won't have to worry about the Green Ranger anymore."

Kyle fell onto his back. Conner took a step forward. "Oh, man!"

As they watched on screen, Billy and Kimberly shared a single thought: trap!

* * *

><p>He found her in Ninja Ops, observing the happenings in Reefside over the main screen.<p>

"Last time I checked, you didn't have access to this place," he stated, leaning casually against a pillar by the stairs.

She spun her chair around and graced him with a dazzling smile. "Since when has that ever stopped me?"

Cam strode up to his girlfriend and kissed her smiling lips. "What's so interesting?"

Theresa returned her attention to the computer. One screen showed the battle between her brother and Conner, the middle followed Ethan's movements attempting to join up with Conner (he was being bombarded by drones), and the right screen followed the zord fight with Angor.

"Conner's running headlong into a major beat down, Ethan's busy with drones, and Mesogog's recycling monsters to use against our zords."

Cam pointed to the left screen. "Kyle's defeated. He's down."

She shot her boyfriend a withering glare. "I wouldn't be here anymore if Kyle was good again."

Cam sighed. He hated when she made sense. "Good point."

The pair could only watch Conner's doom.

* * *

><p>In the quarry, the Red Ranger ran up to the fallen Green Ranger. "Hey, wait a minute! I didn't mean to-are you alright?"<p>

Kyle's shot went just wide of Conner and resumed the battle. "Am now!"

Conner groaned his frustration. "I can't believe I just fell for that!"

"And here's what you get for your stupidity."

Kyle blasted Conner into the earth. "You put up a pretty good fight. But now, it's over." He loomed over the Red Ranger. The Green Ranger turned his head when he saw Mesogog emerge from a portal, Zeltrax right behind him. The dinosaur-human hybrid stepped forward.

"Don't let me interrupt."

Beneath his helmet, Kyle's eyes narrowed into slits as he growled, "Mesogog."

Conner scrambled to his feet. "I believe you two have already met. You have so much in common."

Mesogog roared, "Silence!"

For Conner's trouble, Zeltrax blasted him back several feet.

"Do not speak unless spoken to," the villain warned. His attention returned to Kyle. "You and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

The Green Ranger glared even though nobody could see it. "I have no more business with you. You did this to me. You deal with the consequences."

Mesogog pointed a claw. "I'll make you a deal, then. I'll help you defeat the rest of the Rangers, including your father and pest of a sister, and you can be one of my subjects when I rule the planet."

Kyle was thankful the evil creature facing him couldn't see him roll his eyes. Kyle didn't want to change anything about Earth save for the number of Power Rangers inhabiting it. He certainly didn't want any kind of dinotopia.

"I'll take a pass on that. Dragozord, online." He leaped into his zord as soon as it was in range.

* * *

><p>While the zords battled Angor, Tommy, Kira, and Trent assisted from the ground with their blasters and Tommy's staff. They weren't making much of a dent against the more powerful Angor. They needed a Megazord, fast!<p>

So, when the monster vanished, all three stepped forward, stunned.

"Hey, where'd it go?" Kira wondered. She turned in circles, looking for any trace of it. Trent shrugged. He was too new to all this Ranger stuff. Tommy visually searched the area where Angor disappeared.

"Something's not right."

* * *

><p>Kyle's new Stego-Dragozord faced off against the recently appeared Angor. "And here I thought I'd finished with facing creatures like this."<p>

Angor wrapped chains around Kyle's Megazord. "Oh, you got me." Kyle crossed his arms. The Megazord broke the chains. "Not. Stego-Dragozord, tail attack."

The Megazord spun and landed a direct hit. "Stego laser."

Blue laser bolts erupted from his Megazord's mouth. The blasts destroyed Angor, sending pieces raining down on Reefside.

* * *

><p>After the fight, Kira paced the lab. "I don't get it. One minute, the Green Ranger's fighting us. Then the next thing, he's blowing up Mesogog's freak."<p>

Ethan circled his teammate. "Kyle could definitely use an anger management course."

Conner stepped up between them. "So, Kim, Dr. O, what was with the whole Super Dino Power thing?"

Tommy glanced at his wife and then his friend. "You guys only began to access your full potential."

Ethan smiled. "I like the sound of that."

Conner headed for the door. "I'm heading over to the warehouse and pick up the fossil finder we left," he said.

Tommy dismissed the boy. "You guys head home. I'll get the fossil finder. Thanks, though."

The teens left with no further argument.

Kim handed him a backpack. "Here you go. Hurry back."

**Everything you need is in the backpack.**

He placed a quick peck on her lips. "Quit worrying. I'll be fine."

**Thanks, Beautiful. Just make sure Billy's Retreat is ready.**

She sighed as her husband ascended the stairs. "Billy, I want a camera on him from the moment he enters that warehouse."

Her genius friend nodded. "Still got that bad feeling in your stomach?"

She shuddered. "I'm learning not to trust my son."

* * *

><p>Tommy kicked aside some debris. He wandered for a bit until he picked up a steady beeping. His fossil finder was attached to some sort of device.<p>

"What's this?"

Behind him, Kyle stumbled into several barrels, knocking one to the floor. Tommy turned.

"Kyle!" He steadied his son. "Are you okay?"

Kyle looked like crap. His normally tan face was pale and sweat soaked his clothes.

"Come on, we gotta get you outta here."

Kyle screamed. Tommy held onto his son the best he could.

"What's wrong?"

The energy from Kyle's morpher sent his dad flying. Kim's panicked voice sounded over Tommy's morpher. "The needle! Shoot him!"

He scrambled for the tranquilizer gun in his pocket. He took careful aim at his son and fired. The Black Ranger held his breath as the needle penetrated the weak area of the Green Ranger's neck. Kyle stumbled, his morph broke, and the Green Ranger fell unconscious to the cement floor. Tommy hurried over and checked Kyle's pulse. Strong and steady. Good.

Tommy activated communications with the lab. "Billy, is everything prepared?"

In the lab, Billy nodded. "Affirmative. I'm sending Hayley with transport. You're staying with Kyle and myself, correct?"

Tommy hugged his unconscious son. "You better believe it. Kim, call Theresa. She needs to return so we're not down a Ranger. That's just the situation Mesogog will take advantage of."

Kim nodded. "Got it. Good luck with all this, Handsome."

Tommy smiled grimly. "You're in charge of the team, now, Beautiful. Keep up the good work. And remember, I love you."

"I will. I love you, too. Bring our son back to us."

"That's the plan."

He severed communications and waited for Hayley to arrive. They'd take Kyle to someplace safe, codenamed Billy's Retreat, where they could work on restoring him in peace, without distractions.

* * *

><p>TBC.<p>

This is where I'm veering away from the show. I just couldn't strand Tommy in a block of amber! So he's going away anyway! Kim's in charge, her daughter's coming home and she has to postpose her mom's trip to Reefside.

Please Review!

Katie D.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

* * *

><p>Thank you to everyone who reviewed this latest part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I've recently had two people die in my family who I was very close to but before that, I'd lost interest in writing for a bit. I really hope to be back on track now with fewer distractions.<p>

* * *

><p>Truth and Consequences<p>

* * *

><p>Kim hugged her daughter tightly. Theresa returned the hug.<p>

"I missed you so much, Mom! I'm sorry I ran away! Just needed to clear my head and get my power under control."

Kim smiled as she let her daughter go. "It's understandable. Just don't do it again, young lady!"

Theresa returned her mother's smile. "If I have to bolt again, I'll let you or Dad know, okay?"

Kim wrapped an arm over Theresa's shoulders as she led her daughter into the house. "How is everyone there?

Theresa groaned. "Tori and Blake are still being stubborn idiots. But other than that, Cam, Shane, and Dustin are good. They're all busy teaching the new students. I'm amazed how far Shane and Dustin have come."

The pair settled onto the living room couch. "Saving the world on a daily basis will do that, or so I hear," Kim smirked in reply.

They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. Theresa broke it after examining her nails for a moment. "I kept up with events here from Ninja Ops. Do you really believe Dad and Uncle Billy can help Ky?"

Kim took hold of her daughter's hand. "I've seen them both work miracles in the past. I can't think of two people I trust more. They will bring my son back to me."

Theresa stretched. "How'd Grandma take it when you called to reschedule her visit?"

Kim shook her head in disbelief. "Why am I surprised you know that? Not good. I started off telling her I was pregnant. She was thrilled but berated me after she learned how far along I am. When I got around to delaying her visit and why, she lectured me on manners and giving some more notice. I wanted to hang up the phone right then!"

Theresa laughed and cocked her head. "They were coming here in two days! Grandma probably already packed and planned the route."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for having more on my mind than my mother's visit!"

Theresa nodded. "It has been stressful. How's my baby sister handling all this?"

Kim patted her distended stomach. "Your BROTHER is progressing just fine. I go for an appointment next week."

"Have you and Dad discussed any names yet?"

Kim's grin spread from ear to ear. "We have, actually. The first name is going to begin with an H and we're going to use William if it's a boy and Aisha if we have a girl."

The Orange Ranger squealed. "You can't tell me any more than that?"

Kim shook her head. "That and the sex are complete secrets. You're just gonna hafta wait and see with everyone else."

* * *

><p>The next day, Hayley and Kim filled everyone in on what happened after the teens departed. Conner refused to take his eyes off Theresa. She glared at him in response.<p>

"I'm not going to set anyone on fire! Or boil them alive! I'm in control, I promise!"

Conner shook his head, disbelieving. "You very nearly killed your own brother. So, forgive me if I don't jump for joy at your return."

Theresa held up her hands in front of her. "I'm sorry. I screwed up. I'm trying like hell not to let it happen again."

Conner folded his arms across his chest. "Until you can prove to all of us you're under control, you're not morphing."

Theresa nodded. He was the Red Ranger. He was her leader, for better or worse. She had to accept his decisions. "Fair enough," she sighed.

Ethan returned his attention to Kim and Hayley. "Is Kyle okay?"

Hayley glanced at her friend. Kim nodded. "For the moment, he's fine. Billy and Tommy are keeping him sedated while they work on him."

Trent's head flipped back and forth between everyone, trying to keep up. "Let me see if I got this straight. Dr. O hit Kyle with a tranquilizer dart and took off for parts unknown."

Kim nodded.

"Theresa here," Trent indicated the upset Orange Ranger, "attempted to boil her brother's blood, skipped town to get that under control and returned because we needed another Ranger."

Theresa shrugged. "That's about the gist of it."

Trent pointed at Conner. "You're not letting her morph, even though her brother, the direct cause of Theresa's sanity lapse, is no longer in town."

"Conner's doing the right thing. I wouldn't trust me, either," Theresa responded.

"But we need you out there. I may be new to the whole Ranger thing but even I know that five Rangers are better than four. We don't need you in here," Trent spread his arms, indicating the Command Center, "with your mom and Hayley. We need you out there helping us kick Mesogog's butt."

Theresa shrugged. She agreed with him but it wasn't her call to make. "I'm helpless. Conner's the leader. It's his decision. We all have to be able to trust one another out there. Any divisiveness will only get someone killed."

Conner nodded in agreement. "Sorry, man. Until she can prove herself, I can't let her out there."

* * *

><p>Outside, later that day, Kimberly pulled the bowstring taut against her cheek. The arrow feathers tickled her nose for the briefest second before she released. The arrow sailed straight and hit its target dead on several dozen feet away.<p>

Hayley clapped appreciatively as she stepped off the back porch. "That was really good. I didn't know you still practiced."

Kim shrugged. Archery was one of the few practices still available to her. "Every once in a while, when I really need to clear my mind."

Hayley nodded. "I can see that. Events haven't exactly been stress-free these days."

Kim reloaded her old-fashioned bow with a simple wooden arrow. She aimed for a single leaf in a distant tree. Her eyes closed and Kim released. Again, right on target, the leaf floated to the ground.

"Conner's refusing to allow Theresa to morph and fight with them. He doesn't trust her," Hayley broke the silence.

Kim sighed. She had known this was coming. "Honestly, if Theresa wasn't my daughter, I'd have a difficult time trusting her, too."

Hayley gaped. She hadn't seen that coming. She felt sure Kim would side with her daughter, say Conner had no right to sideline Theresa. "You're abiding by Conner's decision? Even though the Rangers desperately need Theresa?"

Kim nodded. "Conner's the leader, the Red Ranger. We can't undermine his leadership by going behind his back. We can only give advice."

Hayley began to pace the backyard. "What if the Rangers get in a bind? Is Conner really going to let Theresa sit idly by if she can help? And what about her Ninjetti status? Surely Conner has no say over whether Theresa utilizes that power."

Kim reloaded her bow and fired. A hundred feet away, the arrow pierced a preset soda can. She sighed as she set her bow down. "We jump off that bridge if and when we come to it. As for Theresa's Ninjetti powers, those are currently out of order as the natural balance is off. As long as Kyle remains evil, none of us can access those powers. We have to trust that these kids will do the right things when the time comes."

The genius ran a hand through her red hair. "How did you become so patient?"

The former Ranger chuckled. "Too much time waiting around the Command Center for something to get fixed or the zords to recharge. Then I had kids. Nothing will teach patience better than kids."

Hayley grimaced as she settled into a wicker chair on the back porch. Kim sat besides her, kicking her feet up on the ottoman. "I don't know if that'll ever happen with Billy and I."

Kim peered at her in friendly concern. Billy never brought up such doubts. But then again, Billy was hesitant to bring up marriage in Hayley's hearing. "Let me ask you this. Do you want kids of your own?"

Hayley's brow creased as she thought. "I don't know if I ever really considered it. I was always so focused on everything else. Getting good grades, graduating college, helping you guys understand the Dino Gems. I always figured it was something that would happen down the road, when I was settled and ready."

Kimberly chuckled and rolled her eyes. She pointed to her stomach. "Nobody is ever completely ready. There is almost never a perfect time to have a baby. Tommy and I, somehow, have made it a habit of finding the absolute worst times to have kids."

Hayley peered into the sunset. "You've done a good job, though. Despite everything."

Kim laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, my son's trying to kill us and my daughter's trying to kill my son. We did a great job."

Hayley took her friend's hand. "None of that is your fault. You can't control everything. And if anyone can figure out what's wrong with Kyle its my boyfriend and your husband."

Kim closed her eyes and rested her head on the cushion. "Until then, we wait. We keep Theresa out of the fight."

Hayley harrumphed. "I hate waiting."

The former Pink Ranger only chuckled in response.

* * *

><p>In their unknown location, Billy analyzed blood samples while his longtime friend worked on attempting to remove the Dino Gem from his son's wrist. The genius took note of any irregularities in a notebook. On the other side of the lab, Tommy growled as Kyle's gem shocked him. It wasn't the first time.<p>

"Damn. Whatever Mesogog did to this gem, he didn't want it undone anytime soon."

Billy glanced back into his microscope. "I'm attaining similar results. The longer Kyle wears that gem, the less human he becomes and more reptilian."

Billy inhaled deeply. He knew his friend was not going to take his next news well. "Mesogog's plan, according to Kyle's blood samples, was to create an intelligent reptile with access to Ranger powers and weapons.

As Billy predicted, Tommy slammed his fist down on the metal lab table and yelled. "He couldn't gain access to the powers without killing Kyle. If he killed Kyle, he would have had to find the next person compatible with the gem."

Billy nodded and massaged his temples. "Mesogog didn't want to wait so he modified Kyle's gem. But why Kyle? Any one of you could have worked just as well."

Tommy stood and stared at his comatose son. "He wanted someone with access to the Command Center. That could have been any of us. But taking Kyle made this personal. Mesogog has some sort of personal grudge against my family or me. He wanted Kyle to destroy us from the inside out. Take out our base of operations, cripple us."

Billy's eyes locked with his best friend's. "Just like you did. But what went wrong this time around? Kyle isn't taking sides."

Tommy glanced back at the lab table his son rested on and thought. "Ky went rogue. His character was too strong to surrender to whatever brainwashing Mesogog used on him. Neither Ky nor Theresa can be hypnotized. Their wills are too strong. But Kyle wasn't strong enough to fight whatever base evil was implanted into his gem."

The former Blue Ranger snapped his fingers. "He's caught somewhere in between. He's evil but can't be controlled."

Tommy sat back down and resumed his work. "That's what made him so dangerous. He can't discriminate."

Billy picked up his notebook and did some quick calculations. "If my arithmetic is correct, Kyle has three weeks, at most, until he begins to show physical signs of his metamorphosis."

* * *

><p>The next week progressed as normally as was possible. Mesogog remained fairly quiet, for which all the teens were grateful. Tommy and Billy made slow progress on Kyle and Theresa continued to practice her calming techniques so she could be ready when battle came.<p>

The real trouble was coming up with viable excuses for both Kyle and Tommy's prolonged absences. Principal Randall wasn't the only one not buying Theresa and Kim's, shaky at best, explanations. Samantha and Stefan Gregory stopped believing Kim several days before.

Theresa placed her last textbook into her locker and sighed happily. She had one more class before the weekend and she could escape Randall for two whole days! Better yet, if she avoided leaving the house at all, she could avoid Sam as well! Better and better! The brunette slammed the metal door closed and jumped, letting out a startled yelp.

"Sam! You scared me!"

The blond gymnast shrugged one shoulder carelessly. "Sorry."

Theresa hefted her backpack onto her shoulder. "What do you want?"

The other girl crossed her arms. "The truth, this time. Not whatever bull crap you want to spew today."

Theresa exhaled loudly. So much for a quiet weekend, indoors. "Like I've told you all week, I don't know where Kyle is. All I know is that my dad's dealing with him." She started to walk away. Sam followed.

"That's it? Don't you talk to your dad?" Sam probed.

Theresa rolled her eyes in response. "Of course, I do. But whatever's wrong with my brother is need-to-know. My dad feels I don't need to know. End of story. Goodbye." Theresa hustled out the building, leaving Sam to gape after her.

* * *

><p>The incessant beeping never stopped. That was the first thing Kyle noticed upon regaining consciousness. The second was that he couldn't see. Something covered his vision. Around the beeping, two males conversed in hushed tones.<p>

"…Less than thirteen days now."

"We know what and when. How is the only question remaining." The voices grew quiet.

"Carefully."

"He could die."

Pieces of sentences didn't make any sense. He struggled at his bonds. The straps didn't budge. One of the two men must have noticed because it came closer. He hovered over Kyle's head.

"Escape is not feasible. I suggest you attain a comfortable position. You are not eradicating yourself from your current predicament imminently."

The manner of speech tugged at Kyle's memory. He knew someone who talked like that, with a large and varied vocabulary. Who was it?

The man hovering over Kyle kept his entire body and head covered, save for his eyes. The eyes were familiar. Whose eyes were they?

From somewhere behind Kyle, the second man spoke. "His memory's still blocked?"

"Affirmative."

Hovering Man moved away, toward the other voice. "He must regain control. It's the only way."

"Forcing a person to morph?"

Morph? That didn't sound good. He struggled again. Still the straps wouldn't budge.

"The evil has completely taken over, spilled over into when he's not morphed. If he can control it, he'll be able to control the evil and we can safely remove it."

He didn't know what IT was but IT sounded like something he didn't want anywhere near him.

The other man panicked. "You'll be stressing his body to the breaking point! We have absolutely no clue how high his tolerance level is! He could die before he even morphs!"

Die? That sounded even worse.

"I'm aware of all of the consequences. Yet, if we do nothing, he becomes Mesogog's puppet Ranger!"

What was a Mesogog? And what was a Ranger, besides either a baseball or hockey player?

The unseen man exhaled audibly. "Okay. But if he dies, I don't ever want to see you again."

* * *

><p>Tommy couldn't bear to watch one of his oldest friends poured volt after volt of electricity into his son's body. Kyle thrashed and screamed until he was hoarse and then screamed some more but he didn't morph. Billy continued his treatment on and off for five days until Kyle finally morphed.<p>

"Hey, Pops. Long time, no see. I'm surprised you had the balls to kidnap me."

Tommy looked straight into the tinted visor of the Green Ranger. "I did what had to be done."

The Green Ranger cocked his head. "And pumping me full of electricity? Was that you doing what had to be done?"

Tommy nodded. "To get my son back, absolutely."

"But I'm right here."

The older Oliver shook his head. "This isn't you. My son wouldn't attack his friends and family."

He crossed his arms. "Why not? You did."

Tommy shook his head. "I wouldn't have if Rita hadn't brainwashed me."

Kyle sat up straight. "Mesogog's not controlling me. Nobody is." He tested the straps around his arms, wrists, legs, and ankles. They didn't budge a millimeter.

"I know you don't want to hurt people, Ky."

"I do want to," Kyle sneered at his father. "I want to hurt you so very much."

"That's the evil talking, not my son. I know you better than that."

Kyle raised an eyebrow even though his dad couldn't see it. "Are you so sure about that, Dad?" The Green Ranger mocked the Black Ranger.

Tommy crossed his arms. "You can mock me all you want."

Kyle laughed. "I plan on it, since I can do very little else at the moment."

Billy approached the lab table. "We need to shock your system, force the good to regain control."

Tommy nodded and the pair moved out of earshot of the morphed Ranger, which was slightly better than when unmorphed. Kyle struggled again. The leather straps wriggled. It took a bit but his right hand eventually came free. Kyle quickly freed himself and ran toward where his dad and Billy disappeared.

He only made it five feet before electricity surged through his body. He fell back on his rear end, wide eyed.

"I informed you previously that escape was not feasible," Billy stated from behind a monitor. "The force field extends 360 degrees around the lab table in all directions." Billy held up his left wrist. Encircling it was a metal band with a tiny monitor. "This device allows your father and I to enter and exit at will. I'd make myself comfortable, if I were you."

Kyle growled. He paced while Tommy and Billy worked silently. If they were communicating telepathically, they were shutting Kyle out quite effectively. Occasionally, the pair exchanged glances with each other and with Kyle, just to make sure he hadn't gone anywhere.

Eventually, Kyle tired of pacing and settled back onto the uncomfortable metal table, legs crossed under him. Out of nowhere, his gem flared bright green and poured pure energy into Kyle's body. He screamed and convulsed as he fell off the metal slab and onto the cold cement floor.

Without either man noticing, the Green Ranger tested the barrier. Electricity crackled but didn't bother his hand. Kyle smiled. The sheer amount of energy pulsing through his body completely canceled out the force field keeping him in place!

When Tommy glanced up again several minutes later, he gasped. Their prisoner escaped without setting off a single alarm!

* * *

><p>In his lab, Mesogog swept a bowl from a table with a talon. "Incompetent fools! The Green Ranger destroyed another one of my monsters! I want him dealt with."<p>

Zeltrax stepped forward and bowed his metal head. "My lord, how can we stop him if we can't find him?"

Mesogog stormed up into his lackey's face. "You are completely useless! I should end your miserable existence right now." The dino lord grabbed hold of the shorter man's collar and shook him.

Elsa stepped between them and Mesogog was forced to let go. "Fortunately, Lord Mesogog, I am not useless." She strolled over to the computer console. "This tracking device will be able to locate the Green Dino Gem's energy and lead us to exactly where he is."

Mesogog towered over Zeltrax. "I'll deal with you later. Make yourself useful and help her."

Zeltrax backed away. "Yes, master. Right away."

* * *

><p>Kyle stumbled down an alley clutching his head. "What is wrong with me?" He couldn't recall anything but Elsa standing over him outside the gym, laughing. He leaned back against a blue shipping container and held up his wrist. His green gem glowed brightly against the silver band his dad designed.<p>

"I remember…" Imaged flashed before his eyes. Elsa injecting something into his gem. He fought the other Rangers! He fought his sister and his dad! Theresa! She hurt him! "This can't be happening!"

* * *

><p>The trio made their way on foot to the café. Conner growled. "Kyle escaped from wherever Billy and Dr. O kept him! This isn't the kind of news I needed right now."<p>

Kira nodded as they entered Hayley's Cyberspace. "Maybe Hayley's got some ideas on where Kyle can be."

One visual sweep of the café told the teens Hayley would be too busy to help them at all. The place was filled. Hayley herself stayed behind the counter as Theresa waitressed as quickly as she could. Trent was a mere blur himself.

"Well, let's continue hitting the streets," suggested Conner. "Maybe we'll get lucky and run into him," agreed Ethan as they departed the chaotic café.

* * *

><p>Gregory glared at Kyle. "You're quitting, just like that?"<p>

The gymnast shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't stay in Reefside. Not when he couldn't control the evil and, in about two weeks' time, he'd turn into the same sort of reptile as Mesogog. "I'm sorry, I really wish I could explain but I can't. I just have to quit."

Gregory leaned against the pommel horse and sighed. "You have a talent seen once in a generation! You have the chance to be great!"

Kyle groaned in frustration. "I know that! That's all I've heard since I was five! But I have a lot going on in my life right now. Things going on, I can't control! I don't want to quit but I have no choice! I'm sorry!"

He stormed toward the gym exit only to be waylaid by Samantha. "Hey, wait a minute. You're just gonna bail on Gregory like that? He came he just to train you!"

Kyle lowered his head. Lying to Sam just kept getting harder and harder. "Yeah, I know it seems kind of sudden."

Sam glared at him as she crossed her arms. "Don't you think you owe him some kind of explanation?"

The brunette boy shook his head vigorously. "You can't understand! Sam, something weird has happened and I feel like if I don't tell someone, someone not intimately involved, I'm going to explode!"

Sam leaned closer to her new friend. "Well, what is it? You can tell me. I'm very good at keeping secrets."

Kyle opened his mouth to respond, he wanted to tell her everything, so very badly, but excited yelps and screams from one of the younger gymnasts over by the foam pit caused Sam to turn around and in that moment, he made his escape.

"Kyle?" When Sam turned back around, Kyle was nowhere to be found. She huffed and returned to her workout, eager to relieve her frustrations.

* * *

><p>Kyle stumbled down an alley near the gymnasium. He groaned and clutched his wrist in pain. "It's happening again!" He pulled back the sleeve of his shirt as his gem glowed. He screamed and the evil regained control. He stood up fully morphed. "Now, that's better."<p>

The Green Ranger stopped his strolling when Elsa and Zeltrax appeared before him from a portal. He cocked his head to one side. "Looks like I got company."

Elsa stepped forward and pointed her sword at him. "We have a special invitation for you. From Mesogog."

Zeltrax held out a hand. "It's more of a command, really. Join him or be destroyed."

The Green Ranger yawned and brought a hand up to where his mouth was. "Bored, now. I don't know how many times I have to say it. I'm not interested. I'll say it in Russian or Japanese or Dutch if it gets through your thick, prehistoric and metal skulls."

"Maybe this will change your mind," Zeltrax responded. The cyborg unleashed an electrical barrage that Green easily blocked. Elsa yelled as the pair engaged the Green Ranger. Green handled the pair with ease. He laughed. "You guys really are a joke. And you're Mesogog's top generals? That's a riot!"

Elsa turned her head toward the new arrivals. Conner, Ethan, and Kira dismounted their bikes and stopped. The woman in black groaned. "Great! That's all we need!"

Conner took in the battle before him. "Whoa! Whose side do we take?"

"Good question," agreed Ethan.

Elsa retreated and snarled, "We'll make it easy for you," and disappeared with Zeltrax into a portal.

Green pointed his axe at the Rangers. "If you had any sense, you'd run, too."

"Dream on," Kira scoffed. All three brandished their weapons.

"Let's do it!" Conner yelled.

Green slashed through Conner and Ethan easily. Kira he slammed into the side of a warehouse. "Had enough?"

All three climbed to their feet. "Not hardly! Super Dino Mode!" Kira shoved Green away and dragged him across the ground, flapping her new wings as she flew.

* * *

><p>In the command center, Theresa paced anxiously. She'd been released from the café when the others set off to confront Green, Zeltrax, and Elsa. All she could do was pace and monitor the battle. Trent was still needed at the café as more and more teens found Hayley's the place to be. She bit her lip and stared as the screen displayed the pitched battle.<p>

Could she really fight her own twin brother again without relapsing? Was she strong enough inside to withstand whatever evil was controlling Kyle? Did she believe in herself enough to help her teammates when they really needed it? Until the answers to those questions were a resounding YES she couldn't be out there, no matter how much she desired to be.

* * *

><p>Samantha knew she had to do something drastic. Even if that meant following someone. She wanted answers. Her mom was constantly telling her to go into journalism once her gymnastics career was finished. Sam just couldn't stand not knowing the real truth, deep down. One friend back on the East Coast compared her to a pit bull with a bone. And she'd inferred enough about the Olivers to know they all hid something. And she wasn't just thinking about how the parents had been the original Powers Rangers decades ago.<p>

The blonde tailed Kyle until she lost him in the warehouse district. She picked up the Green Ranger's voice as he fought against the Red, Yellow, and Blue Rangers. Sam stayed hidden even as Yellow fell and her costume evaporated.

Sam gaped. Kira Ford, the singer, was the Yellow Ranger?

Green advanced on Kira. "Never did like the color yellow."

Without thinking, Sam jumped in front of Kira just as Green knelt for the final blow. She squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating a ton of pain. Seconds passed and she opened her eyes. Just above her, Green froze, his fist cocked back, ready for the killing blow. The entire world came to a screeching halt, Kira cowering behind Sam and Kyle kneeling, ready to kill.

* * *

><p>In the command center, Theresa spit out the water she just sipped. "What the hell?" She asked to the empty basement. What in the world was Samantha doing? Throwing herself in front of a homicidal, evil Ranger? Did that girl have no self-preservation instincts? What was she even doing there in the first place? How much did she know or was she just in the worst place at the worst time?<p>

* * *

><p>Memories flashed through Kyle's brain at warp speed. Stefan introducing the petite blonde. Him, walking her home after practice. Helping her in school.<p>

"Samantha?" Kyle slowly lowered his fist. "I-I…"

More memories flashed. Kyle stood up, screaming and gripping his helmet.

Conner and Ethan recovered to take the distracted Kyle on in their Super Dino Mode. Kyle, weak as he was, stood no chance. He fell in a fiery blaze. He stood up unsteadily. "I'll return!" The Green Ranger disappeared into the sky.

Sam gasped as Green took off. Was it she that got the Green Ranger to stop? Was her theory correct that it was indeed Kyle under that helmet? But how was she even able to stop him? She ran off before Kira or the other Rangers could question her.

* * *

><p>Theresa hopped onto her Raptor Cycle and tore through the woods, determined to find Samantha Gardner. The girl knew something or she wouldn't have thrown herself in front of Kira like that. Again, the same questions pulsed through her brain. What did she know? How did she discover what she knew? Could her family trust this girl with their secret? Or would she go blabbing to all and sundry that the Olivers, for two generations, saved the world on an almost daily basis? Would anyone believe her if she did talk? Theresa's brain never stopped her entire trek through Reefside.<p>

* * *

><p>Samantha discovered Kyle sitting on a bench in the park. He stared out at the pond, lost in his thoughts, his green shirt blowing gently in the breeze.<p>

"Kyle? Is that you?"

"Hey," the brunette greeted her without turning around.

She sat down next to him and cocked her head sideways. What she could see of his face was drawn and hallow, too pale for her liking. "Where'd you go? When you left the gym?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just taken off like that."

The blonde crossed her arms. "Look, I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. And earlier you seemed desperate to talk."

Kyle inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly. I did, then. I still want to, so much." He turned to face her for the first time. "What I tell you now absolutely cannot go beyond you and me, right here, right now. You can't write it down. You can't tell another soul. You understand that?"

Samantha nodded wordlessly.

"I need your verbal promise or no deal."

"I promise not to repeat what you tell me to anyone or anything."

Kyle searched her blue depths and nodded, seeing only honesty in them. "My parents met when they were in high school. That much you already know. What is probably going to come as a shock is that before my parents met, my mom, with four of her friends, were chosen to become Earth's first team of Power Rangers."

She stayed silent, allowing him to continue. From her snooping, she figured that part out but she wasn't going to let him in on that, yet.

"My dad moved to Angel Grove several months later from Arizona. The head villain at the time, Rita Repulsa, spotted him at a martial arts competition. She liked his style so she kidnapped and brainwashed him. My dad fought against my mom and her friends as the evil Green Ranger. He nearly killed them several times. He did so well, Rita rewarded him with the Sword of Darkness, an evil weapon that would keep my dad under her control forever. My dad and the Red Ranger fought one last time and the Red Ranger destroyed the sword, freeing my dad from Rita's spell. After that, my dad joined the team as the Green Ranger and later, White Tiger."

She took his hand, quietly giving him strength to continue. "The current villain, Mesogog, tampered with my gem." This, Samantha gasped at. She guessed, but to have it confessed to her…

Kyle smiled sadly. "Yep. I'm the new Green Ranger. Only I can't morph without my gem taking control." He pulled his sleeve up slightly. On his wrist rested the silver band and, innocent as can be, sat the Green Dino Gem.

Samantha stood up and backed away slowly. She had a feeling he wouldn't hurt her but what she saw earlier came back. "You almost annihilated Kira!"

Kyle's head hung. She hated him. She feared him. "But I didn't! Look, once I saw you covering her…" He reached out for her arm but she backed further away.

"Don't touch me!"

Kyle felt tears falling down his face but did nothing to wipe them away. "Sam, I couldn't help it! Like I said, the gem-it controls me when I'm morphed. I can't take it off or control what I'm doing. You gotta believe me!"

Samantha stared Kyle down. "Why should I?"

"Because I would never hurt anyone, Sam! Not intentionally! Not after everything my parents went through! They taught me better than that! And for some reason, the mere thought of harming you in any way, chills me to the core."

Kyle closed his eyes for a second. He reopened them and sought her soul through her eyes. "I've never believed it, until now. I've known plenty of examples over the years. How a Ranger can fall so fast and so hard for someone. I've watched my parents, their friends, hell, even my own little sister fall in love. I've fallen for you, Samantha Gardner."

She wasn't ready, not yet. But, he seemed to get that. She took his hand. "What can I do to help? Just say it."

"My dad and uncle are working on a way to free me. All we can do is wait."

She blinked several times, disbelieving. "That's it? Just wait?"

Kyle shrugged. He realized he didn't have time to wait but what else could he do?

"What about in the meantime? Simply allow your alter ego to go rampaging around unchecked?"

Several options ran through his mind. "Get my sister. Go to my house and get my sister. That's what you can do."

Sam started to back away, the quicker to get Theresa. "You'll wait here until we return?"

Kyle nodded. "I won't move."

She returned the nod and ran off to retrieve his sister.

* * *

><p>Theresa muttered to herself as she parked her bike. Not a sign of that petite gymnast anywhere! Someone so small sure could hide herself easily if she wanted to!<p>

The brunette made her way upstairs from the basement and into the kitchen. She was the only one home so she made herself a sandwich and started her homework. She finished her sandwich and sipped her apple juice when the doorbell rang. She was surprised to discover the object of her search on the front porch.

"You!"

Sam pulled Theresa out of the house. "I need you to come with me. Kyle needs you."

Theresa stopped dead in her tracks. "Ky needs me? He said that?"

Sam nodded, pushing Theresa down the driveway. "Yes! He asked for you, specifically. Come on!" Sam tore off once they reached the main road. Theresa followed.

* * *

><p>The pair returned to the pond only to discover an overturned bench but no Kyle. Sam spun around, hoping to see some clue as to what happened. "He was supposed to wait right here!" She grabbed her hair as she moaned, frustrated.<p>

Theresa surveyed the scene. "It's obvious Kyle didn't leave here willingly." Theresa faced the blonde. "Sam, how much has Kyle told you about our family?"

The gymnast stared over the water and was silent for several moments. "He told me a lot. Not everything, but enough. I know your parents were two of Earth's first Rangers, when they were in high school. Ky showed me his gem. He's the Green Ranger. He can't control his infected gem."

Theresa nodded, making note of Sam's exact wording. "How much did you know before Kyle unburdened himself upon you? I watched you shield Kira. You must have had some idea it was Kyle under that helmet."

Sam sunk down next to the overturned bench. "My mom says I'm too inquisitive for my own good. I didn't believe your stories when Kyle first went missing. I dug and dug until I discovered that neither of you were born in any hospital in Angel Grove. When Ky told me about your parents, your lives, he omitted facts. And I noticed that. Some of his answers seemed too rehearsed."

Theresa sat down beside the gymnast. "Exactly how deep down did you dig?"

Samantha sighed. "Very deep. I'm good at getting into places I don't have access to. My dad being who he is, I spent a lot of time around high tech computers growing up. Anyway, I tracked your family from Angel Grove to Boston and back again, through Blue Bay. In high school, your parents and their friends wore a lot of the same colors all the time. Your dad, for example, goes from having a green obsession to a white obsession, to red, all in the span of three years. To anyone else, especially those not familiar with Power Rangers, it's not that odd. To me…."

Theresa nodded in appreciation. "You made the connection. Kyle told you you have to keep this all so very secret, right?"

Sam nodded in agreement. "I won't tell a soul. But you'll let me know when Kyle's better, won't you?"

Theresa smiled and hugged her. "You'll be my first phone call."

* * *

><p>Kyle struggled against the drones' grips. Mesogog stood front and center in the lab.<p>

"The Green Ranger pays us another visit."

Kyle glared at Mesogog. "What do you want with me?"

Mesogog paced, his claws behind his back. "I want you to fight by my side as we bring the world back to the magnificent era of the dinosaurs."

Kyle shook his head. "That can't be all you want me for. I know you're mutating my DNA. You want a sentient saurian Ranger."

Mesogog tilted his head. "You have it all figured out, don't you?"

Kyle struggled some more, to no avail. "You're out of your mind. I'll never help you fight."

The reptilian villain leaned in close to Kyle. "Oh, but you will. Sooner than you think."

The drones held Kyle fast.

"Think of it, Green Ranger. With our combined powers, the modern world doesn't stand a chance. We'll crush them like ants."

Ky stared Mesogog down. "You're delusional."

Mesogog turned away from his prisoner. "You don't have a choice. Now that my substance has bonded with your gem, its only a matter of time before you turn completely evil and my puppet."

"I won't! I'll fight it!"

"For a bit, maybe. But your will is no match for my substance's power. In fact, you can feel it altering you as we speak, can't you?"

Mesogog read the fear in Kyle's eyes. "I thought so. It would be so much easier just to give into it. Don't fight it. Embrace your newfound power. Join me, Kyle Oliver. Join me."

"NO!" Pure white power erupted from Kyle's gem. In a flash, he morphed and sent all the drones and Mesogog sprawling across the lab.

"I'm outta here." Kyle covered his escape with blows from his axe that successfully detained the villains.

* * *

><p>Theresa monitored Reefside for any sign of her brother. On other computers, Hayley and her mom backed her up. All three jumped when the sensor went off.<p>

"I'm picking up Green Ranger's signal," she informed the two older women. On screen, Green Ranger called for his Dragozord and the Stegozord. He leaped into the cockpit as the zords combined.

Ethan peered at the screen from over Theresa's shoulder. "Great. Major Megazord action right off the bat."

Theresa glanced up. "Well, this may be a good time to test out a new Dinozord."

The main three headed out and Theresa watched them go with a sigh. Kim sat down next to her and took her hand. "You're only one zord, anyway. Even if Conner allowed you to morph, Trent can't get away from the café right now. And your Megazord cannot be piloted by a single person. Conner will come around."

The Orange Ranger crossed her arms and huffed. "I'm not good at sitting around and watching."

Kim smiled. "Welcome to my world."

During their small hear to heart, Hayley engaged the zords and dispatched them as the Rangers sped off to engage the Green Ranger…again. Theresa modified the new zord to accept commands from Conner, Ethan, or Kira as it had originally designed to aid the twins' Megazord. "Here you go guys, Ankylozord."

An orange zord with a spinning spikey tail and similar back broke through the earth. Kyle watched from his cockpit. "A new dinozord, eh? I'll add it to my collection."

The two Megazords literally engaged in a tug of war with the new zord as the rope. Ankylozord didn't like that one bit. He bit Tricera and spun his spikey tail against Kyle. Both let go and the Megazords engaged each other. Kyle landed a blow and Thundersaurus fell to the deck. Just when Kyle was going to finish his friends, the new zord attacked Kyle with a missile to his Megazord's chest.

"What are you guys waiting for," Hayley wondered aloud.

"Ankylozord may be small but check out his power," added Theresa.

From his cockpit, Kyle frowned behind his helmet as the new zord replaced Ethan's. "Lasers, fire."

The new zord deflected Kyle's lasers right back at him. It left Kyle vulnerable to a Double Drill Attack but Kyle and his zords vanished before the strike landed.

* * *

><p>Theresa waited by the pond. She could certainly understand why her brother liked it here so much. It was very peaceful.<p>

"I thought you might be here."

She turned to face her brother. He looked horrible, too tired, stretched too thin. She wanted to run to him and hug him and lock him up until they could figure out how to solve his gem problem. "I got your message from Sam. I came but…"

Kyle nodded in understanding. "Mesogog got me."

She turned away, looking out over the placid water. "I'm sorry. About trying to boil you alive. I had no idea I was capable of something so…heinous."

Kyle smiled at his sister. "I've been trying to kill you for weeks now. You forgive me, I forgive you?"

Theresa smiled back at her twin. "Deal."

Silence reigned for several long moments. "I'm going away. It's not safe to be around me."

She cocked her head to one side. "But-"

Kyle pulled away. "I said no!"

"Ky-" Theresa blinked. She'd never seen her brother so agitated so quickly. He turned and stalked away. Theresa was left wondering if her brother, the man she shared all her life with, would ever return and if he did, who would he become?

TBC! I Promise!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Power Rangers. Oh, wait, I own Theresa and Kyle. Yay, me!

Backstory: Tommy and Kimberly made love before she left for Florida. She became pregnant with twins. I added more years between Zeo/Turbo and Dino Thunder so the twins' age would make sense. No real mention of anything Zeo/Turbo in the beginning. Maybe an episode plot or two. Kim is also a Zeo Ranger, but not really that important.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this latest part of this adventure. Hope you continue on the journey with me!

* * *

><p><strong>Leader of the Whack<strong>

* * *

><p>Kyle hurried through the woods, desperate to be as far away from his family and friends as possible. Who knew when his gem would take control again?<p>

He stumbled down a small hill and wiped his brow. It was hot and he'd been running for days now. His overtired body screamed at him to rest, if only for a few minutes. He checked his mobile GPS unit and shook his head. Still to close to Reefside for his liking. He hadn't gone as far as he thought. A good ATV could reach him in an hour.

"I've gotta get further away." He continued until two unfortunately familiar voices stopped him.

"Hold it there, Green Ranger!"

Kyle rolled his eyes. Of course, it was Cassidy and Devin, Reefside's resident Bulk and Skull. He hid behind a tree, accidentally stepping on some pine needles in his effort to hide. Ninjor would slap him upside the head. Ninjas were all about the stealth.

"No, don't worry, it's only Kyle," Devin replied to his blond friend.

Kyle stood, hoping they'd leave quickly. He sighed. Cassidy waved a hand in dismissal. "Whatever. I thought you were the Green Ranger."

Kyle leaned against his tree. "Me? You're kidding, right?" Please say yes!

Cassidy huffed her annoyance. "No, I didn't actually think you were the Green Ranger. I thought-"

Kyle surged forward as something zoomed past overhead. "Look out!" The pair fell forward as whatever it was exploded several dozen feet in front of them.

The blonde stood and surveyed the scene. "What the heck was that?"

"A low flying spaceship?" Devin wondered out loud.

Kyle considered informing them that spaceships only flew that low when in distress and never in such a straight pattern when in distress. But then, they'd begin to wonder how he knew so much about spaceships and that would lead to dangerous territory. Best to keep his trap shut.

"I don't know but whatever it was just landed right over there," the reporter replied, indicating the smoke several feet distant. "Grab your camera."

No, please, Devin, don't grab your camera. Aliens, if that's what landed, tend to be very camera shy. No need to scare them. Kyle, whose family didn't have a good track record with events of this sort, cautioned the duo. "Wait. It could be dangerous."

Cassidy glanced back at Kyle. "Danger's my middle name," she returned as she rushed toward the smoke.

Kyle picked up his pack and followed the pair. Someone had to keep them safe, even if that person wasn't the most stable. "I'm going to regret this, I just know it. When was the last time something falling from space was a good thing?"

Devin turned around. "You say something?"

Kyle shook his head. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

><p>In the basement lab, Hayley, Theresa, and Kimberly continued to run tests on various terminals, hoping some shred of research would help Tommy and Billy discover a way to return Kyle. Conner, for whatever reason, was practicing his soccer skills inside. Never a good choice. Ethan wasn't helping any, instead playing some sort of game on his laptop.<p>

"Hayley, one more level and I break my all time record," the Blue Ranger crowed.

The Red Ranger "dropped" his soccer ball onto Ethan's laptop. "Conner…" Ethan whined.

Conner wasn't sorry. "Sorry."

Ethan stood. "Now I have to start all over again!"

Conner led his friend toward the cave exit. "See, there's this great new thing called the outdoors. You might want to check it out."

Ethan snorted. "Yeah, I'll check that out when I see you check out the library."

Theresa didn't turn around. "I'm not all that into sports, save martial arts, but last I checked, soccer was an outdoor sport. Why, Conner, do you have a soccer ball inside? And why aren't any of you helping?" To make matters slightly worse, her terminal beeped a negative reply to her inquiry. Theresa growled at her computer.

"The biological components to Kyle's morpher aren't responding at all!"

Kim glanced at her daughter. "Saurian and human DNA aren't remotely similar. How did Mesogog do this?"

Theresa thought for a moment. "What if Mesogog himself started out human? He had to come from somewhere, right? If we could attain any kind of sample…"

Hayley sighed. "That's based on your theory that Mesogog was human to begin with."

Theresa swiveled her chair around to face the redhead. "But it's starting somewhere!"

On the other side of the basement, the boys continued their "conversation," for lack of a better word.

"You've got as much of a chance of seeing me in a library as you do seeing Kira at a fashion show," retorted Conner.

Kira stopped strumming her guitar and held her hands up in surrender. "Do you really want to go there?"

The two boys sauntered back to where the trio of women were busy working at the computers.

"Any luck for Kyle?" Ethan wondered.

Theresa sat back in her chair and stretched her back. She really needed to keep up with her exercises. "I have a lead…I think."

Conner perked up. "That's great!"

The Orange Ranger sighed heavily. "It requires getting a sample of Mesogog's blood or tissue. Something that would contain his DNA."

Conner visibly deflated. "Oh."

Theresa nodded. "Yep. That about sums it up."

Kim's terminal alarm blared, alerting everyone to a new happening somewhere around Reefside. Kim shut off the alarm and brought up an image. "That's odd. One of our satellites is picking up a strange reading in the forest, about an hour's ride north of here."

Conner stepped toward the center of the room. "Let's go take a look." Kira, Ethan, and Conner quickly departed on their bikes. Using those instead of the raptors would shave a good half hour off their journey.

Kim eyed her daughter, still typing at her terminal. "You're not going with them?"

Theresa shook her head. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

* * *

><p>Kyle followed Cassidy and Devin to the crash site, his own uneasy feeling growing stronger the closer he got. He leaned over the small crater at the smoking whatever-it-was. The purple fumes reached out and reacted with his gem, forcing it to glow several times. Kyle's head shot up at the sound of his name.<p>

Kira, Conner, and Ethan emerged from their bikes into the clearing. The Yellow Ranger sized up the situation with Kyle, Devin, and Cassidy. "What are you guys doing here?"

Devin stood beside Kyle. "We could ask you the same thing."

Conner and Ethan glared at their former friend. "Haven't seen you around for a while, Oliver."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, we really need to catch up."

Kira blocked the duo from advancing any further. She really didn't want an all-out brawl in front of the reporter and her sidekick. Especially when they had a camera with them. "Not now, guys."

Conner calmed down, for the moment. "Kira's right. Let's check this thing out."

An inhuman voice interrupted the group. "I don't think I'm supposed to let you do that."

Kyle narrowed his eyes at the tentacle monster. In his experience, monsters were usually more assertive. And they, for the most part, didn't think.

Cassidy and her sidekick made a hasty escape, leaving the four of them to deal with the drones, monster, and unknown space artifact. Kyle sighed. Where was Andros when they needed him?

He turned in time to watch tendrils shoot out from the meteorite (if that's truly what it was) and strike the departing Cassidy and Devin. That couldn't have been good.

Surrounded, Conner lashed out at the nearest person. Unfortunately, that happened to be Kyle. "Whose side are you on today, Oliver?"

Kyle dropped his pack and settled into a fighting stance. "You want my help or not, McKnight?"

The monster backed away from the foursome. It was almost as if it was afraid. "If it's all the same to you, I'll just watch from over here."

Kyle blinked owlishly. Oh great. A cowardly monster. Just what they needed. The drones attacked en masse and the teens responded. Kyle breezed through his throng, utilizing his flight power to keep well out of the drones' reach.

Kira's bracelet beeped mid-fight. "Guys, we're analyzing the radiation from that rock and its off-the-charts freaky," Theresa's voice warned. "Get away from it!"

Kyle groaned loudly at his sister's utter lack of timing. Okay, sure, Sis! Get away from the glowing freaky rock while Tyrannodrones clobbered him from all sides! Easier said than done!

"It's a little late for that," Kira responded as she kicked a drone's legs out from under it.

Mesogog's latest mutant meandered over to said object. "What a strange little rock."

The rock's radiation surged into the monster and it yelled, "I want a piece of the action," heading straight for Conner. It smashed one of the balls attached to its tentacles right into the Red Ranger's back. "Come on, you wimps! Put 'em up!"

The Green Ranger groaned. That was overly cheesy but more natural for something so unnatural.

The trio immediately morphed, giving them the upper hand. Kyle was too busy fighting unmorphed to notice the rock's radiation infiltrating his body. His sister didn't miss it as she watched from back in the basement headquarters.

"So far, that makes three infected humans and one infected mutant," Kim announced to her daughter and friend. "It's only a matter of time until the other three are hit. In case neither of you were keeping track."

Back in the clearing, Kyle's vision blurred as he stumbled. "Oh, no!" He knew these symptoms all too well and they weren't good. His gem was attempting to take control. Sweat dripped his face as he fought both the drones and Mesogog's reprogramming with all his will.

Finally, the radiation infected Conner, then Kira, and lastly, Ethan. The Blue Ranger took down his opponents with an ease and skill he'd never known. Was this how it felt to be Kyle, or even Theresa?

Tentacle (what Kyle decided to name the beast) backed away. "I'll be back for round two!" It and the drones vanished into a portal. That left four teenagers and a radiation-emitting space rock all alone in the clearing.

The trio powered down. Conner glanced around the now-empty forest. "Well, that was a challenging altercation."

Ethan's eyes darted around as if on seven cups of coffee. "I was just getting started! I wanted to annihilate that goon!"

Kira blinked at her fingernails in pure shock. "Eww! I got dirt under my nails! That's, like, totally disgusting."

Back in the lab, Theresa's head turned slowly toward her mother. "Please tell me you weren't that bad a valley girl."

Kim smiled. "Only when under a spell. And only after I became a Ranger. I was pretty bad before Zordon recruited me."

Theresa breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her attention back to the monitor. "Something's definitely strange."

Kyle used the altered Rangers as a distraction to hurry away before he seriously hurt someone. Hayley ordered the trio back to the lab with news about the rock.

* * *

><p>Theresa waved a wand-like device over her friends then analyzed the input.<p>

"We have news. It's actually a meteor fragment," Kim stated.

Conner's eyes grew wide. "Fascinating! It must've broken off during some sort of…intergalactic collision."

Theresa raised a single eyebrow. Those were some large words coming from the jock. Everyone else simply stared at Conner. He noticed.

"What?"

"You're beginning to sound like Uncle Billy and we don't have Aunt Trini around to translate."

Kim glared at her daughter. Hayley continued, "We're just afraid coming into such close proximity to the radiation might have some strange side effects."

Theresa nodded. "Kyle was also affected. Who knows what'll happen to him now." She observed her friends for several moments. "You guys feel okay?"

Kira glanced around. "I, for one, am going home. If I don't soak my cuticles in an aloe bath, my nails will never grow out."

Uh, yeah, that's Pod-Kira.

Ethan examined his chest. "Need to hit the gym, work on my pecs."

No way that was actually Ethan talking.

"I want to get home to watch that documentary on the Great Pyramids. Looks fascinating."

Theresa was pretty sure Conner didn't even know where the Great Pyramids were. The trio departed as Kim, Hayley, and Theresa shared a look.

"Uh-oh."

The Orange Ranger blinked after her departed teammates. "I'm now quite glad I wasn't out there."

Kim patted her growing belly. She rubbed where the baby kicked her slightly. "But your brother was. Let's get to work, see what became of him."

The other two nodded and resumed their search for Kyle.

* * *

><p>Theresa almost gagged as Devin sauntered across the school lawn the next morning. He appeared completely ridiculous in tight white pants, gruesome patterned shirt and brown leather jacket. He was like some poor imitation of John Travolta from <em>Saturday Night Fever<em>. Cassidy, of all people, followed behind him in pigtails and a dorky red dress over a white blouse. She wore no makeup, allowing her true blemished complexion to show. She appeared completely besotted with Devin. Beside the youngest Oliver, Kira groaned.

"I always assumed Cassidy had better fashion sense." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "And better taste in men."

Theresa smirked. "You're one to talk. You bat your eyelashes every single time Trent glances in your direction."

Kira winked. "How else can you catch a man? I'm going to the mall. School blows."

Theresa swallowed back bile as she followed her friend off campus.

* * *

><p>Kim typed as Hayley circled Ethan. Said person was currently working out his biceps with free weights. Hayley was concerned. "Ethan, are you sure you feel okay?"<p>

The boy nodded. "Never better. I am pumped and ready to rock."

Kim gaped. True, she hadn't known the boy long but she knew him well enough Ethan only worked out when necessary.

Conner came up from the cave entrance, wearing glasses and carrying books. She didn't need to be Billy to know something was seriously askew. "Good morning, all. The weather is particularly pleasant today. Excessively low humidity."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Whatever, bro." He held up one bicep. "Are my arms ripped or what?"

Kira and Theresa entered from the stairs, Theresa barely controlling the urge to slap the Yellow Ranger silly. She dropped the numerous shopping bags with a loud thud. Kira turned. "Watch it. I can't return anything if it's damaged."

The Orange Ranger hurried over to her mother. "Please, fix them! Kira actually took me shopping! Well, first she skipped school. Then she dragged me into every store that sold clothes." Theresa waved her arms at the bags for emphasis. "And she's dressed as a Stepford girl! Kira is actually wearing a dress! And spent more than seven minutes on her hair. If that isn't an indication of wacky behavior, I don't know what is! I want my friend back!"

Kira batted her eyes. "Yes, sorry I'm late. There was a sale. You understand, don't you Mrs. O?"

Kim held up her hands. "I was never this bad. I swear."

Hayley pondered. "There were definitely side effects to your being exposed to that meteor. We need to destroy it and get you guys back to normal."

Theresa held her arm up high. "Seconded. As soon as possible."

The monster alarm blared. Theresa brought up the downtown feed. She huffed. "Perfect timing. Guess rock destroying is being put on hold. Tentacle is back."

The trio morphed and departed for downtown. Theresa followed, just to ensure the afflicted Rangers didn't do anything stupid.

"Let's devise a strategy of attack," stated Conner as they arrived. This was what Theresa was afraid of.

"Just fight the damn thing!" She screamed at her oblivious friends. They didn't hear her. Kira complained about the lines of her costume and something about being petite.

"Colorful Earthlings, prepared to be destroyed!"

Uh, no. Not happening.

Tentacle blasted Conner onto his butt. Kira complained again, this time about having helmet hair. Theresa groaned and morphed. Conner could kill her later for disobeying when he was back to being himself again. She and Tentacle exchanged several blows until she knocked him back and he retreated into a portal.

The other three stood. "I told you, we should've thought this out," whined Conner.

Ethan glared through his helmet. "In my business, it's go big or go home."

Kira shrugged, indifferent. "Well, I say we go to the mall."

They turned and stalked away in different directions. Theresa unmorphed and crossed her arms. This was getting out of control. And fast.

* * *

><p>Both Trent and Theresa were working at the café when Devin sauntered in, followed by a flock of teenage girls. Trent rushed over to join Theresa behind the bar. "What's up with Devin?"<p>

Theresa shook her head at the Travolta-wannabe. "Got blasted with alien radiation. Polar opposite of normal personality. Cassidy, Kira, Ethan, and Conner were similarly afflicted. Just to give you a heads up."

Trent nodded and returned to work. Theresa couldn't look away from the train wreck that was Devin and his flock.

"Ladies, clear my booth," Pseudo-Devin ordered. His minions rushed to obey. Devin leaned against the jukebox and gave it a slight nudge with his elbow. Dance music filled the café. Behind the counter, Theresa let out what felt like her hundredth groan of the past 24 hours.

Her co-worker set his tray down. "Shouldn't you be home figuring out a way to reverse that?" He indicated the mass of girls surrounding Devin.

Theresa plastered on a fake smile. "Would love to be. But someone's got to manage this place. Hayley's working on it and my mom had to rush to the gym. Besides, seeing Kira go all Valley Girl is not good for my digestion."

Conner situated himself on a stool. He squinted through his glasses at the stage and what could only be assumed as Devin's attempt at disco. Kira breezed into the café with yet more shopping bags. Where was she getting the money for all that? From what Theresa recalled, her parents weren't overly wealthy. And for some reason Theresa couldn't begin to comprehend, Ethan was doing push-ups on the floor beside the counter. He was making it really difficult to get orders out. None heard their bracelets beep over the din.

Trent, fortunately, heard his. Theresa nodded. "Go. I'll corral these idiots," she said, pointing to Conner, Ethan, and Kira. Trent set his washcloth down and dashed out.

It took her nearly fifteen minutes to get her friends out of the café and another twenty on top of that for Conner to drive them to her house. Needless to say, Theresa was one grumpy Oliver.

Finally, finally, they arrived and settled in the basement.

"Hey, guys," Hayley greeted.

"What now? I was having a super-intense workout," Ethan grumbled.

"And I was right in the middle of a very compelling biography," piped up Conner.

Kira added her two cents, for what they were worth. "Does this involve dirt? 'Cause if it does, I'm not doing it."

By this point, even Hayley had had enough. She was grateful for the slight emergency at the gym. Kim did NOT need this kind of stress. "Sorry I interrupted your day. I just thought you might like to know I think I found a way to return Kyle to normal."

Even Theresa blinked and paid attention. Anything to pull her brother from Mesogog's evil clutches. Her head never felt so lonely. He'd always been in there, from the second she was born. And not being able to read him was driving her batty. She refocused her attention on Hayley.

"The meteor fragment. My theory is that it frees your inner self. Kyle really isn't evil, just his gem's reprogramming. If we can irradiate Kyle's gem, it may just work."

Theresa snapped her fingers, getting truly excited for the first time in weeks. "The rock is allowing them to show sides of themselves that don't show on a daily basis."

Conner's eyes lit up. "A recessive personality trait."

Hayley nodded. "You could say that. Like Conner, there's a part of you that's intelligent, studious."

"It must be very small." Trent cuffed his friend on her arm. "What? So there's a part of Kira that's like my mom on crack?" This time Hayley cuffed her honorary niece on her other arm. "You have no clue how difficult it was to pry Kira away from the mall." Theresa shook her head and got back on topic. "That's why Ky helped you guys in the woods. All we need to do is get Ky and the meteor in the same place."

Ethan scratched his head. "I'm going to assume that's easier said than done."

The alarm blared. Tentacle was itching for a third fight. "Again?" Hayley groaned.

Theresa thought fast. "You three," she gestured to the radiated trio, "deal with him. Trent and I will retrieve the rock and somehow bring Ky to my dad and Uncle Billy. Hopefully, they understand more about what can be done than we do."

Everyone nodded and set about their tasks. Theresa and Trent donned HAZMAT suits and collected the meteor from its resting place in the forest. Once it was in a safe container, Theresa gave Trent directions on where to meet up with her dad. That left her to lure out Kyle. Fun. As she returned to the city, Theresa had a brainstorm. Thankfully, Kyle brought out his zord to aid the Megazord and finish off Tentacle.

She just waited for Tentacle to be mincemeat and Kyle to leave the cockpit. As soon as he was on the ground, Theresa blasted her brother unconscious.

"I'm sorry, Ky. But it's for your own good, I promise."

She made sure Kyle was safely bound then handed him off to a waiting Billy. "Please try to do a better job of containment this time."

Her uncle nodded. He settled Kyle in the backseat of his car and took off back to the secret lab.

"Please return my brother to me."

Theresa was intelligent enough to leave a shard of the meteor in the basement just long enough for her friends to return to normal. And, discreetly, used the same shard on Cassidy and Devin. That shard then met the business end of her blaster.

* * *

><p>In their lab, Tommy ran scans while Billy prepped the meteor.<p>

"You're positive this will work?"

Billy glanced at his longtime friend. They were closer than any brothers could be and Billy could see the indications of Tommy being stretched too thin. "Would you like me to calculate the odds?"

Tommy stood outside the force field keeping his son at bay. "I just want my boy back. I want my family back."

Billy made sure the meteor was completely secure before he sliced off a sliver and set it in a plastic dish. "The key to this succeeding is constant exposure. I have to drill this into Kyle's gem. The gem will resist, I am sure of that. This procedure could put Kyle into serious physical and mental anguish."

He sighed as he stepped away from the sterile environment preventing the meteor from harming them. "I believe you should return to Reefside. I don't want you here watching me as I attempt this."

Tommy rounded on the scientist. "You don't think I can handle this? I watched as Lord Zedd drained every last ounce of energy from Kim's body. If I can endure that, I can endure this."

Billy laid a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "You also have a daughter and a pregnant wife who need you. No father should be forced to witness his son be tortured. It's going to be painful enough for me and Kyle's not my flesh and blood. Return to Reefside."

Tommy couldn't help but consider the negative outcomes. "What if this procedure fails? What if Kyle escapes again?"

Billy smiled a genuine smile for the first time in weeks. "Then we keep trying. We won't rest until Kyle is free. Believe in me. When it truly matters, have I ever let you down?"

* * *

><p>TBC….<p>

This chapter really gave me fits because I couldn't think of recessive personality traits for each twin. The episode did nothing with Trent. He was at the meteor site then doesn't show up until the zord fight at the end of the episode then just walks away. So I had nothing to work with in regards to Kyle's recessive personality.

And I couldn't justify Theresa going out to investigate the meteor when Conner benched her earlier in the story. So she just plays babysitter.

Anyway, I hope you like it!

Katie D.


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